US20130129122A1 - Orientation-based audio - Google Patents

Orientation-based audio Download PDF

Info

Publication number
US20130129122A1
US20130129122A1 US13/302,673 US201113302673A US2013129122A1 US 20130129122 A1 US20130129122 A1 US 20130129122A1 US 201113302673 A US201113302673 A US 201113302673A US 2013129122 A1 US2013129122 A1 US 2013129122A1
Authority
US
United States
Prior art keywords
audio
speakers
orientation
channel
electronic device
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Granted
Application number
US13/302,673
Other versions
US8879761B2 (en
Inventor
Martin E. Johnson
Ruchi Goel
Darby E. Hadley
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Apple Inc
Original Assignee
Apple Inc
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Apple Inc filed Critical Apple Inc
Priority to US13/302,673 priority Critical patent/US8879761B2/en
Assigned to APPLE INC. reassignment APPLE INC. ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST (SEE DOCUMENT FOR DETAILS). Assignors: JOHNSON, MARTIN E., GOEL, RUCHI, HADLEY, DARBY E.
Publication of US20130129122A1 publication Critical patent/US20130129122A1/en
Assigned to APPLE INC. reassignment APPLE INC. ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST (SEE DOCUMENT FOR DETAILS). Assignors: RAFF, JOHN
Priority to US14/507,582 priority patent/US10284951B2/en
Application granted granted Critical
Publication of US8879761B2 publication Critical patent/US8879761B2/en
Active legal-status Critical Current
Adjusted expiration legal-status Critical

Links

Images

Classifications

    • HELECTRICITY
    • H04ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04RLOUDSPEAKERS, MICROPHONES, GRAMOPHONE PICK-UPS OR LIKE ACOUSTIC ELECTROMECHANICAL TRANSDUCERS; DEAF-AID SETS; PUBLIC ADDRESS SYSTEMS
    • H04R3/00Circuits for transducers, loudspeakers or microphones
    • H04R3/12Circuits for transducers, loudspeakers or microphones for distributing signals to two or more loudspeakers
    • HELECTRICITY
    • H04ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04RLOUDSPEAKERS, MICROPHONES, GRAMOPHONE PICK-UPS OR LIKE ACOUSTIC ELECTROMECHANICAL TRANSDUCERS; DEAF-AID SETS; PUBLIC ADDRESS SYSTEMS
    • H04R5/00Stereophonic arrangements
    • H04R5/04Circuit arrangements, e.g. for selective connection of amplifier inputs/outputs to loudspeakers, for loudspeaker detection, or for adaptation of settings to personal preferences or hearing impairments
    • HELECTRICITY
    • H04ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04SSTEREOPHONIC SYSTEMS 
    • H04S1/00Two-channel systems
    • HELECTRICITY
    • H04ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04RLOUDSPEAKERS, MICROPHONES, GRAMOPHONE PICK-UPS OR LIKE ACOUSTIC ELECTROMECHANICAL TRANSDUCERS; DEAF-AID SETS; PUBLIC ADDRESS SYSTEMS
    • H04R2430/00Signal processing covered by H04R, not provided for in its groups
    • H04R2430/01Aspects of volume control, not necessarily automatic, in sound systems
    • HELECTRICITY
    • H04ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04RLOUDSPEAKERS, MICROPHONES, GRAMOPHONE PICK-UPS OR LIKE ACOUSTIC ELECTROMECHANICAL TRANSDUCERS; DEAF-AID SETS; PUBLIC ADDRESS SYSTEMS
    • H04R2499/00Aspects covered by H04R or H04S not otherwise provided for in their subgroups
    • H04R2499/10General applications
    • H04R2499/11Transducers incorporated or for use in hand-held devices, e.g. mobile phones, PDA's, camera's

Definitions

  • This application relates generally to playing audio, and more particularly to synchronizing audio playback from multiple outputs to an orientation of a device, or video playing on a device.
  • portable electronic devices have provided unprecedented access to information and entertainment.
  • Many people use portable computing devices, such as smart phones, tablet computing devices, portable content players, and the like to store and play back both audio and audiovisual content.
  • portable computing devices such as smart phones, tablet computing devices, portable content players, and the like to store and play back both audio and audiovisual content.
  • it is common to digitally store and play music, movies, home recordings and the like.
  • Many modern portable electronic devices may be turned by a user to re-orient information displayed on a screen of the device.
  • some people prefer to read documents in a portrait mode while others prefer to read documents shown in a landscape format.
  • many users will turn an electronic device on its side while watching widescreen video to increase the effective display size of the video.
  • left channel audio may be omitted from the same speaker(s) regardless of whether or not the device is turned or otherwise re-oriented; the same is true for right channel audio and other audio channels.
  • One embodiment described herein takes the form of a method for outputting audio from a plurality of speakers associated with an electronic device, including the operations of: determining an orientation of video displayed by the electronic device; using the determined orientation of video to determine a first set of speakers generally on a left side of the video being displayed by the electronic device; using the determined orientation of video to determine a second set of speakers generally on a right side of the video being displayed by the electronic device; routing left channel audio to the first set of speakers for output therefrom; and routing right channel audio to the second set of speakers for output therefrom.
  • Another embodiment takes the form of an apparatus for outputting audio, including: a processor; an audio processing router operably connected to the processor; a first speaker operably connected to the audio processing router; a second speaker operably connected to the audio processing router; a video output operably connected to the processor, the video output operative to display video; an orientation sensor operably connected to the audio processing router and operative to output an orientation of the apparatus; wherein the audio processing router is operative to employ at least one of the orientation of the apparatus and an orientation of the video displayed on the video output to route audio to the first speaker and second speaker for output.
  • Still another embodiment takes the form of a method for outputting audio from an electronic device, including the operations of: determining a first orientation of the electronic device; based on the first orientation, routing a first audio channel to a first set of speakers; based on the first orientation, routing a second audio channel to a second set of speakers; determining that the electronic device is being re-oriented from the first orientation to a second orientation; based on the determination that the electronic device is being re-oriented, transitioning the first audio channel to a third set of speakers; and based on the determination that the electronic device is being re-oriented, transitioning the second audio channel to a fourth set of speakers; wherein the first set of speakers is different from the third set of speakers; the second set of speakers is different from the fourth set of speakers; and during the operation of transitioning the first set of audio, playing at least a portion of the first audio channel and the second audio channel from at least one of the first set of speakers and third set of speakers.
  • FIG. 1 depicts a sample portable device having multiple speakers and in a first orientation.
  • FIG. 2 depicts the sample portable device of FIG. 1 in a second orientation.
  • FIG. 3 is a simplified block diagram of the portable device of FIG. 1 .
  • FIG. 4 is a flowchart depicting basic operations for re-orienting audio to match a device orientation.
  • FIG. 5 depicts a second sample portable device having multiple speakers and in a first orientation.
  • FIG. 6 depicts the second sample portable device of FIG. 4 in a second orientation.
  • FIG. 7 depicts the second sample portable device of FIG. 4 in a third orientation.
  • FIG. 8 depicts the second sample portable device of FIG. 4 in a fourth orientation.
  • embodiments described herein may take the form of devices and methods for matching an audio output to an orientation of a device providing the audio output.
  • audio may be routed to device speakers in accordance with the video orientation.
  • FIG. 1 For example, consider a portable device having two speakers, as shown in FIG. 1 .
  • left channel audio from an audiovisual source may be routed to speaker A 110 .
  • right channel audio from the source may be routed to speaker B 120 .
  • Left channel audio and “right channel audio” generally refer to audio intended to be played from a left output or right output as encoded in an audiovisual or audio source, such as a movie, television show or song (all of which may be digitally encoded and stored on a digital storage medium, as discussed in more detail below).
  • left channel audio may be routed to speaker B 120 while right channel audio is routed to speaker A 120 .
  • this re-orientation of the audio output generally matches the rotation of the video, or ends with the video and audio being re-oriented in a similar fashion.
  • the user perception of the audio remains the same at the end of the device re-orientation as it was prior to re-orientation.
  • the left-channel audio initially plays from the left side of the device and remains playing from the left side of the device after it is turned upside down and the same is true for right-channel audio.
  • the user's perception of the audio remains the same.
  • the device may include two speakers 110 , 120 , a processor 130 , an audio processing router 140 , a storage medium 150 , and an orientation sensor 160 .
  • the audio processing router 140 may take the form of dedicated hardware and/or firmware, or may be implemented as software executed by the processor 130 . In embodiments where the audio processing router is implemented in software, it may be stored on the storage medium 150 .
  • Audio may be inputted to the device through an audio input 170 or may be stored on the storage medium 150 as a digital file. Audio may be inputted or stored alone, as part of audiovisual content (e.g., movies, television shows, presentations and the like), or as part of a data file or structure (such as a video game or other digital file incorporating audio).
  • the audio may be formatted for any number of channels and/or subchannels, such as 5.1 audio, 7.1 audio, stereo and the like.
  • the audio may be encoded or processed in any industry-standard fashion, including any of the various processing techniques associated with DOLBY Laboratories, THX, and the like.
  • the processor 130 generally controls various operations, inputs and outputs of the electronic device.
  • the processor 130 may receive user inputs from a variety of user interfaces, including buttons, touch-sensitive surfaces, keyboards, mice and the like. (For simplicity's sake, no user interfaces are shown in FIG. 3 .)
  • the processor may execute commands to provide various outputs in accordance with one or more applications and/or operating systems associated with the electronic device.
  • the processor 130 may execute the audio processing router as a software routine.
  • the processor may be operably connected to the speakers 110 , 120 , although this is not shown on FIG. 3 .
  • the speakers 110 , 120 output audio in accordance with an audio routing determined by the audio processing router 140 (discussed below).
  • the speakers may output any audio provided to them by the audio processing router and/or the processor 130 .
  • the storage medium 150 generally stores digital data, optionally including audio files. Sample digital audio files suitable for storage on the storage medium 150 include MPEG-3 and MPEG-4 audio, Advanced Audio Coding audio, Waveform Audio Format audio files, and the like. The storage medium 150 may also store other types of data, software, and the like. In some embodiments, the audio processing router 140 may be embodied as software and stored on the storage medium.
  • the storage medium may be any type of digital storage suitable for use with the electronic device 100 , including magnetic storage, flash storage such as flash memory, solid-state storage, optical storage and so on.
  • the electronic device 100 may use the orientation sensor 160 to determine an orientation or motion of the device; this sensed orientation and/or motion may be inputted to the audio processing router 140 in order to route or re-route audio to or between speakers.
  • the orientation sensor 160 may detect a rotation of the device 100 .
  • the output of the orientation sensor may be inputted to the orientation sensor, which changes the routing of certain audio channels from a first speaker configuration to a second speaker configuration.
  • the output of the orientation sensor may be referred to herein as “sensed motion” or “sensed orientation.”
  • the orientation sensor 160 may detect motion, orientation, absolute position and/or relative position.
  • the orientation sensor may be an accelerometer, gyroscope, global positioning system sensor, infrared or other electromagnetic sensor, and the like.
  • the orientation sensor may be a gyroscope and detect rotational motion of the electronic device 100 .
  • the orientation sensor may be a proximity sensor and detect motion of the device relative to a user.
  • multiple sensors may be used or aggregated. The use of multiple sensors is contemplated and embraced by this disclosure, although only a single sensor is shown in FIG. 3 .
  • the audio processing router 140 is generally responsible for receiving an audio input and a sensed motion and determining an appropriate audio output that is relayed to the speakers 110 , 120 . Essentially, the audio processing router 140 connects a number of audio input channels to a number of speakers for audio output. “Input channels” or “audio channels,” as used herein, refers to the discrete audio tracks that may each be outputted from a unique speaker, presuming the electronic device 100 (and audio processing router 140 ) is configured to recognize and decode the audio channel format and has sufficient speakers to output each channel from a unique speaker. Thus, 5.1 audio generally has five channels: front left; center; front right; rear left; and rear right.
  • the “5” in “5.1” is the number of audio channels, while the “0.1” represents the number of subwoofer outputs supported by this particular audio format. (As bass frequencies generally sound omnidirectional, many audio formats send all audio below a certain frequency to a common subwoofer or subwoofers.)
  • the audio processing router 140 initially may receive audio and determine the audio format, including the number of channels. As part of its input signal processing operations, the audio processing router may map the various channels to a default speaker configuration, thereby producing a default audio map. For example, presume an audio source is a 5.1 source, as discussed above. If the electronic device 100 has two speakers 110 , 120 as shown in FIG. 3 , the audio processing router 140 may determine that the left front and left rear audio channels will be outputted from speaker A 110 , while the right front and right rear audio channels will be outputted from speaker B 120 . The center channel may be played from both speakers, optionally with a gain applied to one or both speaker outputs. Mapping a number of audio channels to a smaller number of speakers may be referred to herein as “downmixing.”
  • the sensor 160 may detect these motions and produce a sensed motion or sensed orientation signal.
  • This signal may indicate to the audio processing router 140 and/or processor 130 the current orientation of the electronic device, and thus the current position of the speakers 110 , 120 .
  • the signal may indicate changes in orientation or a motion of the electronic device. If the signal corresponds to a change in orientation or a motion, the audio routing processor 140 or the processor 130 may use the signal to calculate a current orientation.
  • the current orientation, or the signal indicating the current orientation may be used to determine a current position of the speakers 110 , 120 . This current position, in turn, may be used to determine which speakers are considered left speakers, right speakers, center speakers and the like and thus which audio channels are mapped to which speakers.
  • this input signal processing performed by the audio processing router 140 alternatively may be done without reference to the orientation of the electronic device 100 .
  • the audio processing router 140 may perform output signal processing.
  • the audio processing router 140 may use the sensed motion or sensed orientation to re-route audio to speakers in an arrangement different from the default output map.
  • the audio input 170 may receive audio from a source outside the electronic device 100 .
  • the audio input 170 may, for example, accept a jack or plug that connects the electronic device 100 to an external audio source. Audio received through the audio input 170 is handled by the audio processing router 140 in a manner similar to audio retrieved from a storage device 150 .
  • FIG. 4 is a flowchart generally depicting the operations performed by certain embodiments to route audio from an input or storage mechanism to an output configuration based on a device orientation.
  • the method 400 begins in operation 405 , in which the embodiment retrieves audio from a storage medium 150 , an audio input 170 or another audio source.
  • the audio processing router 140 creates an initial audio map.
  • the audio map generally matches the audio channels of the audio source to the speaker configuration of the device.
  • the audio processing router attempts to ensure that left and right channel audio outputs (whether front or back) are sent to speakers on the left and right sides of the device, respectively, given the device's current orientation.
  • front and rear left channel audio may be mixed and sent to the left speaker(s) while the front and rear right channel audio may be mixed and sent to the right speaker(s).
  • the audio processing router may create or retrieve a default audio map based on the number of input audio channels and the number of speakers in the device 100 and assume a default or baseline orientation, regardless of the actual orientation of the device.
  • Center channel audio may be distributed across multiple speakers or sent to a single speaker, as necessary. As one example, if there is no approximately centered speaker for the electronic device 100 in its current orientation, center channel audio may be sent to one or more speakers on both the left and right sides on the device. If there are more speakers on one side than the other, gain may be applied to the center channel to compensate for the disparity in speakers. As yet another option, the center channel may be suppressed entirely if no centered speaker exists.
  • the audio processing router 140 may use gain or equalization to account for differences in the number of speakers on the left and right sides of the electronic device 100 .
  • equalization techniques may normalize the volume of the audio emanating from the left-side and right-side speaker(s).
  • left-side and right-side speakers may refer not only to speakers located at or adjacent the left or right sides of the electronic device, but also speakers that are placed to the left or right side of a centerline of the device. Again, it should be appreciated that these terms are relative to a device's current orientation.
  • a sensed motion and/or sensed orientation may be used to determine the orientation of the speakers.
  • the sensed motion/orientation provided by the sensor may inform the audio routing processor of the device's current orientation, or of motion that may be used, with a prior known orientation, to determine a current orientation.
  • the current speaker configuration (e.g., which speakers 110 are located on a left or right side or left or right of a centerline of the device 100 ) may be determined from the current device orientation.
  • the embodiment may determine in operation 415 if the device orientation is locked.
  • Many portable devices permit a user to lock an orientation, so that images displayed on the device rotate as the device rotates. This orientation lock may likewise be useful to prevent audio outputted by the device 100 from moving from speaker to speaker to account for rotation of the device.
  • the embodiment may determine if the audio map corresponds to an orientation of any video being played on the device 100 .
  • the audio processing router 140 or processor 130 may make this determination in some embodiments.
  • a dedicated processor or other hardware element may also make such a determination.
  • an output from an orientation and/or location sensor may be used in this determination.
  • the sensed orientation/motion may either permit the embodiment to determine the present orientation based on a prior, known orientation and the sensed changes, or may directly include positional data. It should be noted that the orientation of the video may be different than the orientation of the device itself.
  • a user may employ software settings to indicate that widescreen-formatted video should always be displayed in landscape mode, regardless of the orientation of the device.
  • a user may lock the orientation of video on the device, such that it does not reorient as the device 100 is rotated.
  • the video may be oriented differently from the device either through user preference, device settings (including software settings), or some other reason.
  • a difference between video orientation and audio orientation (as determined through the audio map) may lead to a dissonance in user perception as well as audio and/or video miscues.
  • operations 420 and 425 may both be present in some embodiments, although other embodiments may omit one or the other.
  • operation 430 is executed as described below. Otherwise, operation 425 is accessed.
  • operation 435 the embodiment determines if the current audio map matches the device orientation. That is, the embodiment determines if the assumptions regarding speaker 110 location that are used to create the audio map are correct, given the current orientation of the device 100 . Again, this operation may be bypassed or may not be present in certain embodiments, while in other embodiments it may replace operation 420 .
  • operation 430 is executed. Operation 430 will be described in more detail below. If the audio map and device orientation do not match in operation 425 , then the embodiment proceeds to operation 435 . In operation 435 , the embodiment creates a new audio map using the presumed locations and orientations of the speakers, given either or both of the video orientation and device 100 orientation. The process for creating a new audio map is similar to that described previously.
  • the embodiment executes operation 440 and transitions the audio between the old and new audio maps.
  • the “new” audio map is that created in operation 435
  • the “old” audio map is the one that existed prior to the new audio map's creation.
  • the audio processing router 140 or processor 130 may gradually shift audio outputs between the two maps.
  • the embodiment may convolve the audio channels from the first map to the second map, as one example.
  • the embodiment may linearly transition audio between the two audio maps.
  • the embodiment may determine or receive a rate of rotation and attempt to generally match the change between audio maps to the rate of rotation (again, convolution may be used to perform this function).
  • one or more audio channels may appear to fade out from a first speaker and fade in from a second speaker during the audio map transition. Accordingly, it is conceivable that a single speaker may be outputting both audio from the old audio map and audio from the new audio map simultaneously.
  • the old and new audio outputs may be at different levels to create the effect that the old audio map transitions to the new audio map.
  • the old audio channel output may be negatively gained (attenuated) while the new audio channel output is positively gained across some time period to create this effect.
  • Gain, equalization, filtering, time delays and other signal processing may be employed during this operation.
  • the time period for transition between first and second orientations may be used to determine the transition, or rate of transition, from an old audio map to a new audio map.
  • the period of transition may be estimated from the rate of rotation or other reorientation, may be based on past rotation or other reorientation, or may be a fixed, default value.
  • transition between audio maps may happen on the fly for smaller angles; as an example, a 10 degree rotation of the electronic device may result in the electronic device reorienting audio between speakers to match this 10 degree rotation substantially as the rotation occurs.
  • the transition between audio maps may occur only after a reorientation threshold has been passed. For example, remapping of audio channels to outputs may occur only once the device has rotated at least 90 degrees.
  • the device may not remap audio until the threshold has been met and the device and stops rotating for a period of time. Transitioning audio from a first output to a second output may take place over a set period of time (such as one that is aesthetically pleasing to an average listener), in temporal sync (or near-sync) to the rotation of the device, or substantially instantaneously.
  • end state 440 is entered. It should be appreciated that the end state 440 is used for convenience only. In actuality, an embodiment may continuously check for re-orientation of a device 100 or video playing on a device and adjust audio outputs accordingly. Thus, a portion or all of this flowchart may be repeated.
  • Operation 430 will now be discussed. As previously mentioned, the embodiment may execute operation 430 upon a positive determination from either operations 420 or 425 .
  • the orientation sensor 160 determines if the device 100 is being rotated or otherwise reoriented. If not, end state 445 is executed. If so, operation 435 is executed as described above.
  • FIG. 4 is provided as one illustration of an example embodiment's operation and not a sole method of operation.
  • the electronic device 100 may have multiple speakers 110 .
  • Three speakers are shown in FIGS. 5-8 , although more may be used.
  • tow speakers may be used.
  • the number of speakers 110 present in an electronic device 100 typically influences the audio map created by the audio processing router 140 or processor 130 .
  • the numbers of speakers generally indicates how many left and/or right speakers exist and thus which audio channels may be mapped to which speakers.
  • speaker 510 may be considered a left speaker, as it is left of a vertical centerline of the device 500 .
  • speaker 520 may be considered a right speaker.
  • Speaker 530 may be considered a center speaker as it is approximately at the centerline of the device. This may be considered by the audio processing router 140 when constructing an audio map that routes audio from an input to the speakers 510 - 530 .
  • the audio processing router may downmix both the left front and left rear channels of a 5 channel audio source and send them to the first speaker 510 .
  • the right front and right rear channels may be downmixed and sent to the second speaker 520 in a similar fashion.
  • Center audio may be mapped to the third speaker 530 , as it is approximately at the vertical centerline of the device 500 .
  • a new audio map may be constructed and the audio channels remapped to the speakers 510 , 520 , 530 .
  • the front and rear audio channels may be transmitted to the third speaker 530 as it is the sole speaker on the left side of the device 500 in the orientation of FIG. 6 .
  • the front right and rear right channels may be mixed and transmitted to both the first and second speakers 510 , 520 as they are both on the right side of the device in the present orientation.
  • the center channel may be omitted and not played back, as no speaker is at or near the centerline of the device 500 .
  • the center channel may be played through all three speakers 510 , 520 , 530 when the device 500 is oriented as in FIG. 6 in order to present the audio data encoded thereon.
  • the audio processing router 140 may downmix the left front and left rear channels for presentation on the third speaker 530 in the configuration of FIG. 6 , but may route the right front audio to the first speaker and the right rear audio to the second speaker 520 instead of mixing them together and playing the result from both the second and third speakers.
  • the decision to mix front and rear (or left and right, or other pairs) of channels may be made, in part, based on the output of the orientation sensor 160 .
  • the audio processing router 140 may send right front information to the first speaker 510 and right rear audio information to the second speaker 520 .
  • Front and rear channels may be preserved, in other words, based on an orientation or a presumed distance from a user as well as based on the physical layout of the speakers.
  • FIG. 7 shows a third sample orientation for the device 500 .
  • center channel audio may again be routed to the third speaker 530 .
  • Left channel audio may be routed to the second speaker 520 while right channel audio is routed to the first speaker 510 .
  • the embodiment may reverse the speakers receiving the left and right channels when compared to the orientation of FIG. 5 , but the center channel is outputted to the same speaker.
  • FIG. 8 depicts still another orientation for the device of FIG. 5 .
  • left channel audio may be routed to the first and second speakers 510 , 520 and right channel audio routed to the third speaker 530 .
  • Center channel audio may be omitted.
  • center channel audio may be routed to all three speakers equally, or routed to the third speaker and one of the first and second speakers.
  • Gain may be applied to audio routed to a particular set of speakers. In certain situations, gain is applied in order to equalize audio of the left and right channels (front, rear or both, as the case may be). As one example, consider the orientation of the device 500 in FIG. 8 . Two speakers 510 , 520 output the left channel audio and one speaker 530 outputs the right channel audio. Accordingly, a gain of 0.5 may be applied to the output of the two speakers 510 , 520 to approximately equalize volume between the left and right channels. Alternately, a 2.0 gain could be applied to the right channel audio outputted by the third speaker 530 . It should be appreciated that different gain factors may be used, and different gain factors may be used for two speakers even if both are outputting the same audio channels.
  • Gain may be used to equalize or normalize audio, or a user's perception of audio, in the event an electronic device 100 is laterally moved toward or away from a user.
  • the device 100 may include a motion sensor sensitive to lateral movement, such as a GPS sensor, accelerometer and the like.
  • a camera integrated into the device 100 may be used; the camera may capture images periodically and compare one to the other.
  • the device 100 through the processor, may recognize a user, for example by extracting the user from the image using known image processing techniques. If the user's position or size changes from one captured image to another, the device may infer that the user has moved in a particular position. This information may be used to adjust the audio being outputted.
  • a presence etector such as an infrared presence detector or the like
  • the user has likely moved away from the device and the volume or gain may be increased. If the user appears larger, the user may have moved closer and volume/gain may be decreased. If the user shifts position in an image, he may have moved to one side or the device may have been moved with respect to him. Again, gain may be applied to the audio channels to compensate for this motion. As one example, speakers further away from the user may have a higher gain than speakers near a user; likewise, gain may be increased more quickly for speakers further away than those closer when the relative position of the user changes.
  • Time delays may also be introduced into one or more audio channels. Time delays may be useful for syncing up audio outputted by a first set of the device's 100 speakers 110 nearer a user and audio outputted by a second set of speakers.
  • the audio emanating from the first set of speakers may be slightly time delayed in order to create a uniform sound with the audio emanating from the second set of speakers, for example.
  • the device 100 may determine what audio to time delay by determining which speakers may be nearer a user based on the device's orientation, as described above, or by determining a distance of various speakers from a user, also as described above.
  • an embodiment may determine an orientation of video outputted by a projector or on a television screen, and route audio according to the principles set forth herein to a variety of speakers in order to match the video orientation.
  • certain embodiments may determine an orientation of displayed video on an electronic device and match oaudio outputs to corresponding speakers, as described above.
  • the device may ignore video orientation and use the device's orientation to create and employ an audio map.
  • audio routing method may be discussed with respect to certain operations and orders of operations, it should be appreciated that the techniques disclosed herein may be employed with certain operations omitted, other operations added or the order of operations changed. Accordingly, the discussion of any embodiment is meant only to be an example and is not intended to suggest that the scope of the disclosure, including the claims, is limited to these examples.

Abstract

A method and apparatus for outputting audio based on an orientation of an electronic device, or video shown by the electronic device. The audio may be mapped to a set of speakers using either or both of the device and video orientation to determine which speakers receive certain audio channels.

Description

    TECHNICAL FIELD
  • This application relates generally to playing audio, and more particularly to synchronizing audio playback from multiple outputs to an orientation of a device, or video playing on a device.
  • BACKGROUND
  • The rise of portable electronic devices has provided unprecedented access to information and entertainment. Many people use portable computing devices, such as smart phones, tablet computing devices, portable content players, and the like to store and play back both audio and audiovisual content. For example, it is common to digitally store and play music, movies, home recordings and the like.
  • Many modern portable electronic devices may be turned by a user to re-orient information displayed on a screen of the device. As one example, some people prefer to read documents in a portrait mode while others prefer to read documents shown in a landscape format. As yet another example, many users will turn an electronic device on its side while watching widescreen video to increase the effective display size of the video.
  • Many current electronic devices, even when re-oriented in this fashion, continue to output audio as if the device is in a default orientation. That is, left channel audio may be omitted from the same speaker(s) regardless of whether or not the device is turned or otherwise re-oriented; the same is true for right channel audio and other audio channels.
  • SUMMARY
  • One embodiment described herein takes the form of a method for outputting audio from a plurality of speakers associated with an electronic device, including the operations of: determining an orientation of video displayed by the electronic device; using the determined orientation of video to determine a first set of speakers generally on a left side of the video being displayed by the electronic device; using the determined orientation of video to determine a second set of speakers generally on a right side of the video being displayed by the electronic device; routing left channel audio to the first set of speakers for output therefrom; and routing right channel audio to the second set of speakers for output therefrom.
  • Another embodiment takes the form of an apparatus for outputting audio, including: a processor; an audio processing router operably connected to the processor; a first speaker operably connected to the audio processing router; a second speaker operably connected to the audio processing router; a video output operably connected to the processor, the video output operative to display video; an orientation sensor operably connected to the audio processing router and operative to output an orientation of the apparatus; wherein the audio processing router is operative to employ at least one of the orientation of the apparatus and an orientation of the video displayed on the video output to route audio to the first speaker and second speaker for output.
  • Still another embodiment takes the form of a method for outputting audio from an electronic device, including the operations of: determining a first orientation of the electronic device; based on the first orientation, routing a first audio channel to a first set of speakers; based on the first orientation, routing a second audio channel to a second set of speakers; determining that the electronic device is being re-oriented from the first orientation to a second orientation; based on the determination that the electronic device is being re-oriented, transitioning the first audio channel to a third set of speakers; and based on the determination that the electronic device is being re-oriented, transitioning the second audio channel to a fourth set of speakers; wherein the first set of speakers is different from the third set of speakers; the second set of speakers is different from the fourth set of speakers; and during the operation of transitioning the first set of audio, playing at least a portion of the first audio channel and the second audio channel from at least one of the first set of speakers and third set of speakers.
  • BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES
  • FIG. 1 depicts a sample portable device having multiple speakers and in a first orientation.
  • FIG. 2 depicts the sample portable device of FIG. 1 in a second orientation.
  • FIG. 3 is a simplified block diagram of the portable device of FIG. 1.
  • FIG. 4 is a flowchart depicting basic operations for re-orienting audio to match a device orientation.
  • FIG. 5 depicts a second sample portable device having multiple speakers and in a first orientation.
  • FIG. 6 depicts the second sample portable device of FIG. 4 in a second orientation.
  • FIG. 7 depicts the second sample portable device of FIG. 4 in a third orientation.
  • FIG. 8 depicts the second sample portable device of FIG. 4 in a fourth orientation.
  • DETAILED DESCRIPTION
  • Generally, embodiments described herein may take the form of devices and methods for matching an audio output to an orientation of a device providing the audio output. Thus, for example, as a device is rotated, audio may be routed to device speakers in accordance with the video orientation. To elaborate, consider a portable device having two speakers, as shown in FIG. 1. When the device 100 is in the position depicted in FIG. 1, left channel audio from an audiovisual source may be routed to speaker A 110. Likewise, right channel audio from the source may be routed to speaker B 120. “Left channel audio” and “right channel audio” generally refer to audio intended to be played from a left output or right output as encoded in an audiovisual or audio source, such as a movie, television show or song (all of which may be digitally encoded and stored on a digital storage medium, as discussed in more detail below).
  • When the device 100 is rotated 180 degrees, as shown in FIG. 2, left channel audio may be routed to speaker B 120 while right channel audio is routed to speaker A 120. If video is being shown on the device 100, this re-orientation of the audio output generally matches the rotation of the video, or ends with the video and audio being re-oriented in a similar fashion. In this manner, the user perception of the audio remains the same at the end of the device re-orientation as it was prior to re-orientation. To the user, the left-channel audio initially plays from the left side of the device and remains playing from the left side of the device after it is turned upside down and the same is true for right-channel audio. Thus, even though the audio has been re-routed to different speakers, the user's perception of the audio remains the same.
  • It should be appreciated that certain embodiments may have more than two speakers, or may have two speakers positioned in different locations than those shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. The general concepts and embodiments disclosed herein nonetheless may be applicable to devices having different speaker layouts and/or numbers.
  • Example Portable Device
  • Turning now to FIG. 3, a simplified block diagram of the portable device of FIGS. 1 and 2 can be seen. The device may include two speakers 110, 120, a processor 130, an audio processing router 140, a storage medium 150, and an orientation sensor 160. The audio processing router 140 may take the form of dedicated hardware and/or firmware, or may be implemented as software executed by the processor 130. In embodiments where the audio processing router is implemented in software, it may be stored on the storage medium 150.
  • Audio may be inputted to the device through an audio input 170 or may be stored on the storage medium 150 as a digital file. Audio may be inputted or stored alone, as part of audiovisual content (e.g., movies, television shows, presentations and the like), or as part of a data file or structure (such as a video game or other digital file incorporating audio). The audio may be formatted for any number of channels and/or subchannels, such as 5.1 audio, 7.1 audio, stereo and the like. Similarly, the audio may be encoded or processed in any industry-standard fashion, including any of the various processing techniques associated with DOLBY Laboratories, THX, and the like.
  • The processor 130 generally controls various operations, inputs and outputs of the electronic device. The processor 130 may receive user inputs from a variety of user interfaces, including buttons, touch-sensitive surfaces, keyboards, mice and the like. (For simplicity's sake, no user interfaces are shown in FIG. 3.) The processor may execute commands to provide various outputs in accordance with one or more applications and/or operating systems associated with the electronic device. In some embodiments, the processor 130 may execute the audio processing router as a software routine. The processor may be operably connected to the speakers 110, 120, although this is not shown on FIG. 3.
  • The speakers 110, 120 output audio in accordance with an audio routing determined by the audio processing router 140 (discussed below). The speakers may output any audio provided to them by the audio processing router and/or the processor 130.
  • The storage medium 150 generally stores digital data, optionally including audio files. Sample digital audio files suitable for storage on the storage medium 150 include MPEG-3 and MPEG-4 audio, Advanced Audio Coding audio, Waveform Audio Format audio files, and the like. The storage medium 150 may also store other types of data, software, and the like. In some embodiments, the audio processing router 140 may be embodied as software and stored on the storage medium. The storage medium may be any type of digital storage suitable for use with the electronic device 100, including magnetic storage, flash storage such as flash memory, solid-state storage, optical storage and so on.
  • Generally, the electronic device 100 may use the orientation sensor 160 to determine an orientation or motion of the device; this sensed orientation and/or motion may be inputted to the audio processing router 140 in order to route or re-route audio to or between speakers. As one example, the orientation sensor 160 may detect a rotation of the device 100. The output of the orientation sensor may be inputted to the orientation sensor, which changes the routing of certain audio channels from a first speaker configuration to a second speaker configuration. The output of the orientation sensor may be referred to herein as “sensed motion” or “sensed orientation.”
  • It should be appreciated that the orientation sensor 160 may detect motion, orientation, absolute position and/or relative position. The orientation sensor may be an accelerometer, gyroscope, global positioning system sensor, infrared or other electromagnetic sensor, and the like. As one example, the orientation sensor may be a gyroscope and detect rotational motion of the electronic device 100. As another example the orientation sensor may be a proximity sensor and detect motion of the device relative to a user. In some embodiments, multiple sensors may be used or aggregated. The use of multiple sensors is contemplated and embraced by this disclosure, although only a single sensor is shown in FIG. 3.
  • The audio processing router 140 is generally responsible for receiving an audio input and a sensed motion and determining an appropriate audio output that is relayed to the speakers 110, 120. Essentially, the audio processing router 140 connects a number of audio input channels to a number of speakers for audio output. “Input channels” or “audio channels,” as used herein, refers to the discrete audio tracks that may each be outputted from a unique speaker, presuming the electronic device 100 (and audio processing router 140) is configured to recognize and decode the audio channel format and has sufficient speakers to output each channel from a unique speaker. Thus, 5.1 audio generally has five channels: front left; center; front right; rear left; and rear right. The “5” in “5.1” is the number of audio channels, while the “0.1” represents the number of subwoofer outputs supported by this particular audio format. (As bass frequencies generally sound omnidirectional, many audio formats send all audio below a certain frequency to a common subwoofer or subwoofers.)
  • The audio processing router 140 initially may receive audio and determine the audio format, including the number of channels. As part of its input signal processing operations, the audio processing router may map the various channels to a default speaker configuration, thereby producing a default audio map. For example, presume an audio source is a 5.1 source, as discussed above. If the electronic device 100 has two speakers 110, 120 as shown in FIG. 3, the audio processing router 140 may determine that the left front and left rear audio channels will be outputted from speaker A 110, while the right front and right rear audio channels will be outputted from speaker B 120. The center channel may be played from both speakers, optionally with a gain applied to one or both speaker outputs. Mapping a number of audio channels to a smaller number of speakers may be referred to herein as “downmixing.”
  • As the electronic device 100 is rotated or re-oriented, the sensor 160 may detect these motions and produce a sensed motion or sensed orientation signal. This signal may indicate to the audio processing router 140 and/or processor 130 the current orientation of the electronic device, and thus the current position of the speakers 110, 120. Alternatively, the signal may indicate changes in orientation or a motion of the electronic device. If the signal corresponds to a change in orientation or a motion, the audio routing processor 140 or the processor 130 may use the signal to calculate a current orientation. The current orientation, or the signal indicating the current orientation, may be used to determine a current position of the speakers 110, 120. This current position, in turn, may be used to determine which speakers are considered left speakers, right speakers, center speakers and the like and thus which audio channels are mapped to which speakers.
  • It should be appreciated that this input signal processing performed by the audio processing router 140 alternatively may be done without reference to the orientation of the electronic device 100. In addition to input signal processing, the audio processing router 140 may perform output signal processing. When performing output signal processing, the audio processing router 140 may use the sensed motion or sensed orientation to re-route audio to speakers in an arrangement different from the default output map.
  • The audio input 170 may receive audio from a source outside the electronic device 100. The audio input 170 may, for example, accept a jack or plug that connects the electronic device 100 to an external audio source. Audio received through the audio input 170 is handled by the audio processing router 140 in a manner similar to audio retrieved from a storage device 150.
  • Example of Operation
  • FIG. 4 is a flowchart generally depicting the operations performed by certain embodiments to route audio from an input or storage mechanism to an output configuration based on a device orientation. The method 400 begins in operation 405, in which the embodiment retrieves audio from a storage medium 150, an audio input 170 or another audio source.
  • In operation 410, the audio processing router 140 creates an initial audio map. The audio map generally matches the audio channels of the audio source to the speaker configuration of the device. Typically, although not necessarily, the audio processing router attempts to ensure that left and right channel audio outputs (whether front or back) are sent to speakers on the left and right sides of the device, respectively, given the device's current orientation. Thus, front and rear left channel audio may be mixed and sent to the left speaker(s) while the front and rear right channel audio may be mixed and sent to the right speaker(s). In alternative embodiments, the audio processing router may create or retrieve a default audio map based on the number of input audio channels and the number of speakers in the device 100 and assume a default or baseline orientation, regardless of the actual orientation of the device.
  • Center channel audio may be distributed across multiple speakers or sent to a single speaker, as necessary. As one example, if there is no approximately centered speaker for the electronic device 100 in its current orientation, center channel audio may be sent to one or more speakers on both the left and right sides on the device. If there are more speakers on one side than the other, gain may be applied to the center channel to compensate for the disparity in speakers. As yet another option, the center channel may be suppressed entirely if no centered speaker exists.
  • Likewise, the audio processing router 140 may use gain or equalization to account for differences in the number of speakers on the left and right sides of the electronic device 100. Thus, if one side has more speakers than the other, equalization techniques may normalize the volume of the audio emanating from the left-side and right-side speaker(s). It should be noted that “left-side” and “right-side” speakers may refer not only to speakers located at or adjacent the left or right sides of the electronic device, but also speakers that are placed to the left or right side of a centerline of the device. Again, it should be appreciated that these terms are relative to a device's current orientation.
  • A sensed motion and/or sensed orientation may be used to determine the orientation of the speakers. The sensed motion/orientation provided by the sensor may inform the audio routing processor of the device's current orientation, or of motion that may be used, with a prior known orientation, to determine a current orientation. The current speaker configuration (e.g., which speakers 110 are located on a left or right side or left or right of a centerline of the device 100) may be determined from the current device orientation.
  • Once the audio map is created, the embodiment may determine in operation 415 if the device orientation is locked. Many portable devices permit a user to lock an orientation, so that images displayed on the device rotate as the device rotates. This orientation lock may likewise be useful to prevent audio outputted by the device 100 from moving from speaker to speaker to account for rotation of the device.
  • If the device orientation is locked, then the method 400 proceeds to operation 425. Otherwise, operation 420 is accessed. In operation 420, the embodiment may determine if the audio map corresponds to an orientation of any video being played on the device 100. For example, the audio processing router 140 or processor 130 may make this determination in some embodiments. A dedicated processor or other hardware element may also make such a determination. Typically, as with creating an audio map, an output from an orientation and/or location sensor may be used in this determination. The sensed orientation/motion may either permit the embodiment to determine the present orientation based on a prior, known orientation and the sensed changes, or may directly include positional data. It should be noted that the orientation of the video may be different than the orientation of the device itself. As one example, a user may employ software settings to indicate that widescreen-formatted video should always be displayed in landscape mode, regardless of the orientation of the device. As another example, a user may lock the orientation of video on the device, such that it does not reorient as the device 100 is rotated.
  • In some embodiments, it may be useful to determine if the audio map matches an orientation of video being played on the device 100 in addition to, or instead of, determining if the audio map matches a device orientation. The video may be oriented differently from the device either through user preference, device settings (including software settings), or some other reason. A difference between video orientation and audio orientation (as determined through the audio map) may lead to a dissonance in user perception as well as audio and/or video miscues. It should be appreciated that operations 420 and 425 may both be present in some embodiments, although other embodiments may omit one or the other.
  • In the event that the audio map matches the video orientation in operation 420, operation 430 is executed as described below. Otherwise, operation 425 is accessed. In operation 435, the embodiment determines if the current audio map matches the device orientation. That is, the embodiment determines if the assumptions regarding speaker 110 location that are used to create the audio map are correct, given the current orientation of the device 100. Again, this operation may be bypassed or may not be present in certain embodiments, while in other embodiments it may replace operation 420.
  • If the audio map does match the device 100 orientation, then operation 430 is executed. Operation 430 will be described in more detail below. If the audio map and device orientation do not match in operation 425, then the embodiment proceeds to operation 435. In operation 435, the embodiment creates a new audio map using the presumed locations and orientations of the speakers, given either or both of the video orientation and device 100 orientation. The process for creating a new audio map is similar to that described previously.
  • Following operation 435, the embodiment executes operation 440 and transitions the audio between the old and new audio maps. The “new” audio map is that created in operation 435, while the “old” audio map is the one that existed prior to the new audio map's creation. In order to avoid abrupt changes in audio presentation (e.g., changing the speaker 110 from which a certain audio channel emanates), the audio processing router 140 or processor 130 may gradually shift audio outputs between the two maps. The embodiment may convolve the audio channels from the first map to the second map, as one example. As another example, the embodiment may linearly transition audio between the two audio maps. As yet another example, if rotation was detected in operation 430, the embodiment may determine or receive a rate of rotation and attempt to generally match the change between audio maps to the rate of rotation (again, convolution may be used to perform this function).
  • Thus, one or more audio channels may appear to fade out from a first speaker and fade in from a second speaker during the audio map transition. Accordingly, it is conceivable that a single speaker may be outputting both audio from the old audio map and audio from the new audio map simultaneously. In many cases, the old and new audio outputs may be at different levels to create the effect that the old audio map transitions to the new audio map. The old audio channel output may be negatively gained (attenuated) while the new audio channel output is positively gained across some time period to create this effect. Gain, equalization, filtering, time delays and other signal processing may be employed during this operation. Likewise, the time period for transition between first and second orientations may be used to determine the transition, or rate of transition, from an old audio map to a new audio map. In various embodiments, the period of transition may be estimated from the rate of rotation or other reorientation, may be based on past rotation or other reorientation, or may be a fixed, default value. Continuing this concept, transition between audio maps may happen on the fly for smaller angles; as an example, a 10 degree rotation of the electronic device may result in the electronic device reorienting audio between speakers to match this 10 degree rotation substantially as the rotation occurs.
  • In some embodiments, the transition between audio maps (e.g., the reorientation of the audio output) may occur only after a reorientation threshold has been passed. For example, remapping of audio channels to outputs may occur only once the device has rotated at least 90 degrees. In certain embodiment, the device may not remap audio until the threshold has been met and the device and stops rotating for a period of time. Transitioning audio from a first output to a second output may take place over a set period of time (such as one that is aesthetically pleasing to an average listener), in temporal sync (or near-sync) to the rotation of the device, or substantially instantaneously.
  • After operation 435, end state 440 is entered. It should be appreciated that the end state 440 is used for convenience only. In actuality, an embodiment may continuously check for re-orientation of a device 100 or video playing on a device and adjust audio outputs accordingly. Thus, a portion or all of this flowchart may be repeated.
  • Operation 430 will now be discussed. As previously mentioned, the embodiment may execute operation 430 upon a positive determination from either operations 420 or 425. In operation 430, the orientation sensor 160 determines if the device 100 is being rotated or otherwise reoriented. If not, end state 445 is executed. If so, operation 435 is executed as described above.
  • It should be appreciated that any or all of the foregoing operations may be omitted in certain embodiments. Likewise, operations may be shifted in order. For example, operations 420, 425 and 430 may all be rearranged with respect to one another. Thus, FIG. 4 is provided as one illustration of an example embodiment's operation and not a sole method of operation.
  • As shown generally in at least FIGS. 5-8, the electronic device 100 may have multiple speakers 110. Three speakers are shown in FIGS. 5-8, although more may be used. In some embodiments, such as the one shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, tow speakers may be used.
  • The number of speakers 110 present in an electronic device 100 typically influences the audio map created by the audio processing router 140 or processor 130. First, the numbers of speakers generally indicates how many left and/or right speakers exist and thus which audio channels may be mapped to which speakers. To elaborate, consider the electronic device 500 in the orientation shown in FIG. 5. Here, speaker 510 may be considered a left speaker, as it is left of a vertical centerline of the device 500. Likewise, speaker 520 may be considered a right speaker. Speaker 530, however, may be considered a center speaker as it is approximately at the centerline of the device. This may be considered by the audio processing router 140 when constructing an audio map that routes audio from an input to the speakers 510-530.
  • For example, the audio processing router may downmix both the left front and left rear channels of a 5 channel audio source and send them to the first speaker 510. The right front and right rear channels may be downmixed and sent to the second speaker 520 in a similar fashion. Center audio may be mapped to the third speaker 530, as it is approximately at the vertical centerline of the device 500.
  • When the device is rotated 90 degrees, as shown in FIG. 6, a new audio map may be constructed and the audio channels remapped to the speakers 510, 520, 530. Now, the front and rear audio channels may be transmitted to the third speaker 530 as it is the sole speaker on the left side of the device 500 in the orientation of FIG. 6. The front right and rear right channels may be mixed and transmitted to both the first and second speakers 510, 520 as they are both on the right side of the device in the present orientation. The center channel may be omitted and not played back, as no speaker is at or near the centerline of the device 500.
  • It should be appreciated that alternative audio maps may be created, depending on a variety of factors such as user preference, programming of the audio processing router 140, importance or frequency of audio on a given channel and the like. As one example, the center channel may be played through all three speakers 510, 520, 530 when the device 500 is oriented as in FIG. 6 in order to present the audio data encoded thereon.
  • As another example, the audio processing router 140 may downmix the left front and left rear channels for presentation on the third speaker 530 in the configuration of FIG. 6, but may route the right front audio to the first speaker and the right rear audio to the second speaker 520 instead of mixing them together and playing the result from both the second and third speakers. The decision to mix front and rear (or left and right, or other pairs) of channels may be made, in part, based on the output of the orientation sensor 160. As an example, if the orientation sensor determines that the device 500 is flat on a table in FIG. 6, then the audio processing router 140 may send right front information to the first speaker 510 and right rear audio information to the second speaker 520. Front and rear channels may be preserved, in other words, based on an orientation or a presumed distance from a user as well as based on the physical layout of the speakers.
  • FIG. 7 shows a third sample orientation for the device 500. In this orientation, center channel audio may again be routed to the third speaker 530. Left channel audio may be routed to the second speaker 520 while right channel audio is routed to the first speaker 510. Essentially, in this orientation, the embodiment may reverse the speakers receiving the left and right channels when compared to the orientation of FIG. 5, but the center channel is outputted to the same speaker.
  • FIG. 8 depicts still another orientation for the device of FIG. 5. In this orientation, left channel audio may be routed to the first and second speakers 510, 520 and right channel audio routed to the third speaker 530. Center channel audio may be omitted. In alternative embodiments, center channel audio may be routed to all three speakers equally, or routed to the third speaker and one of the first and second speakers.
  • Gain may be applied to audio routed to a particular set of speakers. In certain situations, gain is applied in order to equalize audio of the left and right channels (front, rear or both, as the case may be). As one example, consider the orientation of the device 500 in FIG. 8. Two speakers 510, 520 output the left channel audio and one speaker 530 outputs the right channel audio. Accordingly, a gain of 0.5 may be applied to the output of the two speakers 510, 520 to approximately equalize volume between the left and right channels. Alternately, a 2.0 gain could be applied to the right channel audio outputted by the third speaker 530. It should be appreciated that different gain factors may be used, and different gain factors may be used for two speakers even if both are outputting the same audio channels.
  • Gain may be used to equalize or normalize audio, or a user's perception of audio, in the event an electronic device 100 is laterally moved toward or away from a user. The device 100 may include a motion sensor sensitive to lateral movement, such as a GPS sensor, accelerometer and the like. In some embodiments, a camera integrated into the device 100 may be used; the camera may capture images periodically and compare one to the other. The device 100, through the processor, may recognize a user, for example by extracting the user from the image using known image processing techniques. If the user's position or size changes from one captured image to another, the device may infer that the user has moved in a particular position. This information may be used to adjust the audio being outputted. In yet another embodiment, a presence etector (such as an infrared presence detector or the like) may be used for similar purposes.
  • For example, if the user (or a portion of the user's body, such as his head) appears smaller, the user has likely moved away from the device and the volume or gain may be increased. If the user appears larger, the user may have moved closer and volume/gain may be decreased. If the user shifts position in an image, he may have moved to one side or the device may have been moved with respect to him. Again, gain may be applied to the audio channels to compensate for this motion. As one example, speakers further away from the user may have a higher gain than speakers near a user; likewise, gain may be increased more quickly for speakers further away than those closer when the relative position of the user changes.
  • Time delays may also be introduced into one or more audio channels. Time delays may be useful for syncing up audio outputted by a first set of the device's 100 speakers 110 nearer a user and audio outputted by a second set of speakers. The audio emanating from the first set of speakers may be slightly time delayed in order to create a uniform sound with the audio emanating from the second set of speakers, for example. The device 100 may determine what audio to time delay by determining which speakers may be nearer a user based on the device's orientation, as described above, or by determining a distance of various speakers from a user, also as described above.
  • The foregoing description has broad application. For example, while examples disclosed herein may focus on utilizing a smart phone or mobile computing device, it should be appreciated that the concepts disclosed herein may equally apply to other devices that output audio. As one example, an embodiment may determine an orientation of video outputted by a projector or on a television screen, and route audio according to the principles set forth herein to a variety of speakers in order to match the video orientation. As another example, certain embodiments may determine an orientation of displayed video on an electronic device and match oaudio outputs to corresponding speakers, as described above. However, if the device determines that a video orientation is locked (e.g., the orientation of the video does not rotate as the device rotates), then the device may ignore video orientation and use the device's orientation to create and employ an audio map.
  • Similarly, although the audio routing method may be discussed with respect to certain operations and orders of operations, it should be appreciated that the techniques disclosed herein may be employed with certain operations omitted, other operations added or the order of operations changed. Accordingly, the discussion of any embodiment is meant only to be an example and is not intended to suggest that the scope of the disclosure, including the claims, is limited to these examples.

Claims (21)

We claim:
1. A method for outputting audio from a plurality of speakers associated with an electronic device, comprising:
determining an orientation of video displayed by the electronic device;
using the determined orientation of video to determine a first set of speakers generally on a left side of the video being displayed by the electronic device;
using the determined orientation of video to determine a second set of speakers generally on a right side of the video being displayed by the electronic device;
routing left channel audio to the first set of speakers for output therefrom; and
routing right channel audio to the second set of speakers for output therefrom.
2. The method of claim 1, further comprising the operations of:
determining an orientation of the electronic device;
using the determined orientation of the electronic device in addition to the orientation of video to determine the first set of speakers and second set of speakers.
3. The method of claim 1, further comprising the operations of:
determining an orientation of the electronic device;
using the determined orientation of the electronic device instead of the orientation of video to determine the first set of speakers and second set of speakers.
4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:
determining if a video orientation is locked;
in the event the video orientation is locked, determining an orientation of the electronic device; and
using the determined orientation of the electronic device instead of the orientation of video to determine the first set of speakers and second set of speakers.
5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:
mixing a left front audio channel and a left rear audio channel to form the left channel audio; and
mixing a right front audio channel and a right rear audio channel to form the right channel audio.
6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:
determining if a speaker is near a center axis of the electronic device;
in the event a speaker is near the center axis of the electronic device, designating the speaker as a center speaker; and
further in the event a speaker is near the center axis of the electronic device, routing center channel audio to the center speaker.
7. The method of claim 6, further comprising the operation of, in the event there is no speaker near the center axis of the electronic device, suppressing the center channel audio.
8. The method of claim 6, further comprising the operation of, in the event there is no speaker near the center axis of the electronic device, routing the center channel audio to the first and second sets of speakers.
9. The method of claim 1, further comprising:
determining if a first number of speakers in the first set of speakers is not equal than a second number of speakers in the second set of speakers; and
if the first number of speakers does not equal the second number of speakers, applying a gain to one of the left channel audio or right channel audio.
10. The method of claim 9, wherein the gain is determined by a ratio of the first number of speakers to the second number of speakers.
11. The method of claim 1, further comprising:
determining if the first set of speakers is closer to a user than the second set of speakers;
in the event that the first set of speakers is closer to the user, modifying a volume of one of the left channel audio or right channel audio.
12. An apparatus for outputting audio, comprising:
a processor;
an audio processing router operably connected to the processor;
a first speaker operably connected to the audio processing router;
a second speaker operably connected to the audio processing router;
a video output operably connected to the processor, the video output operative to display video;
an orientation sensor operably connected to the audio processing router and operative to output an orientation of the apparatus; wherein
the audio processing router is operative to employ at least one of the orientation of the apparatus and an orientation of the video displayed on the video output to route audio to the first speaker and second speaker for output.
13. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the audio processing router is operative to create a first audio map, based on at least one of the orientation of the apparatus and an orientation of the video displayed on the video output, to map at least one audio channel to each of the first and second speakers.
14. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the audio processing router is software executed by the processor.
15. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the audio processing router is further operative to mix together a first and second audio channel, thereby creating a mixed audio channel for output by the first speaker.
16. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the audio processing router is further operative to apply a gain to the mixed audio channel, the gain dependent upon an orientation of the apparatus.
17. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the audio processing router is further operative to apply a gain to the mixed audio channel, the gain dependent upon a distance of the first speaker from a listener.
18. The apparatus of claim 17, further comprising:
a presence detector operatively connected to the audio processing router and providing a presence output; wherein
the audio processing router further employs the presence output to determine the gain.
19. A method for outputting audio from an electronic device, comprising:
determining a first orientation of the electronic device;
based on the first orientation, routing a first audio channel to a first set of speakers;
based on the first orientation, routing a second audio channel to a second set of speakers;
determining that the electronic device is being re-oriented from the first orientation to a second orientation;
based on the determination that the electronic device is being re-oriented, transitioning the first audio channel to a third set of speakers; and
based on the determination that the electronic device is being re-oriented, transitioning the second audio channel to a fourth set of speakers; wherein
the first set of speakers is different from the third set of speakers;
the second set of speakers is different from the fourth set of speakers; and
during the operation of transitioning the first set of audio, playing at least a portion of the first audio channel and the second audio channel from at least one of the first set of speakers and third set of speakers.
20. The method of claim 19, further comprising the operation of:
during the operation of transitioning the second set of audio, playing at least a portion of the first audio channel and the second audio channel from at least one of the second set of speakers and fourth set of speakers.
21. The method of claim 19, further comprising matching the transitioning of the first audio channel to a third set of speakers to a rate of rotation.
US13/302,673 2011-11-22 2011-11-22 Orientation-based audio Active 2033-01-08 US8879761B2 (en)

Priority Applications (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
US13/302,673 US8879761B2 (en) 2011-11-22 2011-11-22 Orientation-based audio
US14/507,582 US10284951B2 (en) 2011-11-22 2014-10-06 Orientation-based audio

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
US13/302,673 US8879761B2 (en) 2011-11-22 2011-11-22 Orientation-based audio

Related Child Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
US14/507,582 Continuation US10284951B2 (en) 2011-11-22 2014-10-06 Orientation-based audio

Publications (2)

Publication Number Publication Date
US20130129122A1 true US20130129122A1 (en) 2013-05-23
US8879761B2 US8879761B2 (en) 2014-11-04

Family

ID=48426981

Family Applications (2)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
US13/302,673 Active 2033-01-08 US8879761B2 (en) 2011-11-22 2011-11-22 Orientation-based audio
US14/507,582 Active 2032-09-09 US10284951B2 (en) 2011-11-22 2014-10-06 Orientation-based audio

Family Applications After (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
US14/507,582 Active 2032-09-09 US10284951B2 (en) 2011-11-22 2014-10-06 Orientation-based audio

Country Status (1)

Country Link
US (2) US8879761B2 (en)

Cited By (93)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US20130022221A1 (en) * 2011-07-19 2013-01-24 Christopher Kallai Shaping sound responsive to speaker orientation
US20140185852A1 (en) * 2012-12-28 2014-07-03 Nvidia Corporation Audio channel mapping in a portable electronic device
US8811648B2 (en) 2011-03-31 2014-08-19 Apple Inc. Moving magnet audio transducer
US20140233770A1 (en) * 2013-02-20 2014-08-21 Barnesandnoble.Com Llc Techniques for speaker audio control in a device
US20140233772A1 (en) * 2013-02-20 2014-08-21 Barnesandnoble.Com Llc Techniques for front and rear speaker audio control in a device
US20140233771A1 (en) * 2013-02-20 2014-08-21 Barnesandnoble.Com Llc Apparatus for front and rear speaker audio control in a device
US8858271B2 (en) 2012-10-18 2014-10-14 Apple Inc. Speaker interconnect
US20140314239A1 (en) * 2013-04-23 2014-10-23 Cable Television Laboratiories, Inc. Orientation based dynamic audio control
US8879761B2 (en) 2011-11-22 2014-11-04 Apple Inc. Orientation-based audio
US8942410B2 (en) 2012-12-31 2015-01-27 Apple Inc. Magnetically biased electromagnet for audio applications
EP2830327A1 (en) * 2013-07-22 2015-01-28 Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft zur Förderung der angewandten Forschung e.V. Audio processor for orientation-dependent processing
US8989428B2 (en) 2011-08-31 2015-03-24 Apple Inc. Acoustic systems in electronic devices
US8995240B1 (en) 2014-07-22 2015-03-31 Sonos, Inc. Playback using positioning information
US20150117686A1 (en) * 2013-10-24 2015-04-30 Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. Method and apparatus for outputting sound through speaker
WO2015068057A1 (en) * 2013-11-06 2015-05-14 Sony Corporation Method and apparatus for audio output, and electronic device
US9219460B2 (en) 2014-03-17 2015-12-22 Sonos, Inc. Audio settings based on environment
US9226087B2 (en) 2014-02-06 2015-12-29 Sonos, Inc. Audio output balancing during synchronized playback
US9226073B2 (en) 2014-02-06 2015-12-29 Sonos, Inc. Audio output balancing during synchronized playback
US20160011590A1 (en) * 2014-09-29 2016-01-14 Sonos, Inc. Playback Device Control
US9264839B2 (en) 2014-03-17 2016-02-16 Sonos, Inc. Playback device configuration based on proximity detection
CN105376691A (en) * 2014-08-29 2016-03-02 杜比实验室特许公司 Orientation-aware surround sound playback
US9357299B2 (en) 2012-11-16 2016-05-31 Apple Inc. Active protection for acoustic device
US9354656B2 (en) 2003-07-28 2016-05-31 Sonos, Inc. Method and apparatus for dynamic channelization device switching in a synchrony group
US9374607B2 (en) 2012-06-26 2016-06-21 Sonos, Inc. Media playback system with guest access
US9386362B2 (en) 2010-05-05 2016-07-05 Apple Inc. Speaker clip
US9451354B2 (en) 2014-05-12 2016-09-20 Apple Inc. Liquid expulsion from an orifice
US9512954B2 (en) 2014-07-22 2016-12-06 Sonos, Inc. Device base
US9521497B2 (en) * 2014-08-21 2016-12-13 Google Technology Holdings LLC Systems and methods for equalizing audio for playback on an electronic device
US9525943B2 (en) 2014-11-24 2016-12-20 Apple Inc. Mechanically actuated panel acoustic system
US9524098B2 (en) 2012-05-08 2016-12-20 Sonos, Inc. Methods and systems for subwoofer calibration
US9538305B2 (en) 2015-07-28 2017-01-03 Sonos, Inc. Calibration error conditions
US9648422B2 (en) 2012-06-28 2017-05-09 Sonos, Inc. Concurrent multi-loudspeaker calibration with a single measurement
US9668049B2 (en) 2012-06-28 2017-05-30 Sonos, Inc. Playback device calibration user interfaces
US9690539B2 (en) 2012-06-28 2017-06-27 Sonos, Inc. Speaker calibration user interface
US9690271B2 (en) 2012-06-28 2017-06-27 Sonos, Inc. Speaker calibration
US9693165B2 (en) 2015-09-17 2017-06-27 Sonos, Inc. Validation of audio calibration using multi-dimensional motion check
US9706323B2 (en) 2014-09-09 2017-07-11 Sonos, Inc. Playback device calibration
US9715367B2 (en) 2014-09-09 2017-07-25 Sonos, Inc. Audio processing algorithms
US9729115B2 (en) 2012-04-27 2017-08-08 Sonos, Inc. Intelligently increasing the sound level of player
US9734242B2 (en) 2003-07-28 2017-08-15 Sonos, Inc. Systems and methods for synchronizing operations among a plurality of independently clocked digital data processing devices that independently source digital data
US9743207B1 (en) 2016-01-18 2017-08-22 Sonos, Inc. Calibration using multiple recording devices
US9749763B2 (en) 2014-09-09 2017-08-29 Sonos, Inc. Playback device calibration
US9749761B2 (en) 2015-07-19 2017-08-29 Sonos, Inc. Base properties in a media playback system
US9749760B2 (en) 2006-09-12 2017-08-29 Sonos, Inc. Updating zone configuration in a multi-zone media system
US9756424B2 (en) 2006-09-12 2017-09-05 Sonos, Inc. Multi-channel pairing in a media system
US9763018B1 (en) 2016-04-12 2017-09-12 Sonos, Inc. Calibration of audio playback devices
US9766853B2 (en) 2006-09-12 2017-09-19 Sonos, Inc. Pair volume control
US20170289723A1 (en) * 2016-04-05 2017-10-05 Radsone Inc. Audio output controlling method based on orientation of audio output apparatus and audio output apparatus for controlling audio output based on orientation thereof
US9787550B2 (en) 2004-06-05 2017-10-10 Sonos, Inc. Establishing a secure wireless network with a minimum human intervention
US9794710B1 (en) 2016-07-15 2017-10-17 Sonos, Inc. Spatial audio correction
US9820033B2 (en) 2012-09-28 2017-11-14 Apple Inc. Speaker assembly
US9860662B2 (en) 2016-04-01 2018-01-02 Sonos, Inc. Updating playback device configuration information based on calibration data
US9860670B1 (en) 2016-07-15 2018-01-02 Sonos, Inc. Spectral correction using spatial calibration
US9864574B2 (en) 2016-04-01 2018-01-09 Sonos, Inc. Playback device calibration based on representation spectral characteristics
US9891881B2 (en) 2014-09-09 2018-02-13 Sonos, Inc. Audio processing algorithm database
US9900698B2 (en) 2015-06-30 2018-02-20 Apple Inc. Graphene composite acoustic diaphragm
US9930470B2 (en) 2011-12-29 2018-03-27 Sonos, Inc. Sound field calibration using listener localization
US9965243B2 (en) 2015-02-25 2018-05-08 Sonos, Inc. Playback expansion
US9977561B2 (en) 2004-04-01 2018-05-22 Sonos, Inc. Systems, methods, apparatus, and articles of manufacture to provide guest access
US10001965B1 (en) 2015-09-03 2018-06-19 Sonos, Inc. Playback system join with base
US10003899B2 (en) 2016-01-25 2018-06-19 Sonos, Inc. Calibration with particular locations
US10063782B2 (en) 2013-06-18 2018-08-28 Motorola Solutions, Inc. Method and apparatus for displaying an image from a camera
US10103699B2 (en) * 2016-09-30 2018-10-16 Lenovo (Singapore) Pte. Ltd. Automatically adjusting a volume of a speaker of a device based on an amplitude of voice input to the device
US10108393B2 (en) 2011-04-18 2018-10-23 Sonos, Inc. Leaving group and smart line-in processing
US10127006B2 (en) 2014-09-09 2018-11-13 Sonos, Inc. Facilitating calibration of an audio playback device
CN109144457A (en) * 2017-06-14 2019-01-04 瑞昱半导体股份有限公司 Audio playing apparatus and its audio control circuit
US10284983B2 (en) 2015-04-24 2019-05-07 Sonos, Inc. Playback device calibration user interfaces
US10299061B1 (en) 2018-08-28 2019-05-21 Sonos, Inc. Playback device calibration
US10306364B2 (en) 2012-09-28 2019-05-28 Sonos, Inc. Audio processing adjustments for playback devices based on determined characteristics of audio content
US10359987B2 (en) 2003-07-28 2019-07-23 Sonos, Inc. Adjusting volume levels
US10372406B2 (en) 2016-07-22 2019-08-06 Sonos, Inc. Calibration interface
US10402151B2 (en) 2011-07-28 2019-09-03 Apple Inc. Devices with enhanced audio
US10459684B2 (en) 2016-08-05 2019-10-29 Sonos, Inc. Calibration of a playback device based on an estimated frequency response
US10585639B2 (en) 2015-09-17 2020-03-10 Sonos, Inc. Facilitating calibration of an audio playback device
US10613817B2 (en) 2003-07-28 2020-04-07 Sonos, Inc. Method and apparatus for displaying a list of tracks scheduled for playback by a synchrony group
US10664224B2 (en) 2015-04-24 2020-05-26 Sonos, Inc. Speaker calibration user interface
US10734965B1 (en) 2019-08-12 2020-08-04 Sonos, Inc. Audio calibration of a portable playback device
US10860284B2 (en) 2015-02-25 2020-12-08 Sonos, Inc. Playback expansion
US11106425B2 (en) 2003-07-28 2021-08-31 Sonos, Inc. Synchronizing operations among a plurality of independently clocked digital data processing devices
US11106423B2 (en) 2016-01-25 2021-08-31 Sonos, Inc. Evaluating calibration of a playback device
US11106424B2 (en) 2003-07-28 2021-08-31 Sonos, Inc. Synchronizing operations among a plurality of independently clocked digital data processing devices
US11206484B2 (en) 2018-08-28 2021-12-21 Sonos, Inc. Passive speaker authentication
US11265652B2 (en) 2011-01-25 2022-03-01 Sonos, Inc. Playback device pairing
US11294618B2 (en) 2003-07-28 2022-04-05 Sonos, Inc. Media player system
US20220174445A1 (en) * 2020-04-10 2022-06-02 Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. Display device and control method thereof
US11403062B2 (en) 2015-06-11 2022-08-02 Sonos, Inc. Multiple groupings in a playback system
US11405740B1 (en) * 2020-07-27 2022-08-02 Amazon Technologies, Inc. Audio output configuration for moving devices
US11429343B2 (en) 2011-01-25 2022-08-30 Sonos, Inc. Stereo playback configuration and control
US11481182B2 (en) 2016-10-17 2022-10-25 Sonos, Inc. Room association based on name
US11499255B2 (en) 2013-03-13 2022-11-15 Apple Inc. Textile product having reduced density
WO2023051272A1 (en) * 2021-09-28 2023-04-06 华为技术有限公司 Device networking and sound channel configuration method and electronic device
US11650784B2 (en) 2003-07-28 2023-05-16 Sonos, Inc. Adjusting volume levels
US11894975B2 (en) 2004-06-05 2024-02-06 Sonos, Inc. Playback device connection

Families Citing this family (36)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US8923997B2 (en) 2010-10-13 2014-12-30 Sonos, Inc Method and apparatus for adjusting a speaker system
JP5644748B2 (en) * 2011-12-15 2014-12-24 ヤマハ株式会社 Audio equipment
US8811630B2 (en) 2011-12-21 2014-08-19 Sonos, Inc. Systems, methods, and apparatus to filter audio
USD721352S1 (en) 2012-06-19 2015-01-20 Sonos, Inc. Playback device
US8930005B2 (en) 2012-08-07 2015-01-06 Sonos, Inc. Acoustic signatures in a playback system
US8965033B2 (en) 2012-08-31 2015-02-24 Sonos, Inc. Acoustic optimization
US20140211949A1 (en) * 2013-01-29 2014-07-31 Qnx Software Systems Limited Sound field reproduction
US9426573B2 (en) * 2013-01-29 2016-08-23 2236008 Ontario Inc. Sound field encoder
USD721061S1 (en) 2013-02-25 2015-01-13 Sonos, Inc. Playback device
US9367283B2 (en) 2014-07-22 2016-06-14 Sonos, Inc. Audio settings
USD883956S1 (en) 2014-08-13 2020-05-12 Sonos, Inc. Playback device
US9973851B2 (en) 2014-12-01 2018-05-15 Sonos, Inc. Multi-channel playback of audio content
USD768602S1 (en) 2015-04-25 2016-10-11 Sonos, Inc. Playback device
US20170085972A1 (en) 2015-09-17 2017-03-23 Sonos, Inc. Media Player and Media Player Design
USD886765S1 (en) 2017-03-13 2020-06-09 Sonos, Inc. Media playback device
USD920278S1 (en) 2017-03-13 2021-05-25 Sonos, Inc. Media playback device with lights
USD906278S1 (en) 2015-04-25 2020-12-29 Sonos, Inc. Media player device
KR102260947B1 (en) * 2015-05-18 2021-06-04 삼성전자주식회사 An audio device and a method for recognizing the position of the audio device
US9729118B2 (en) 2015-07-24 2017-08-08 Sonos, Inc. Loudness matching
US9712912B2 (en) 2015-08-21 2017-07-18 Sonos, Inc. Manipulation of playback device response using an acoustic filter
US9736610B2 (en) 2015-08-21 2017-08-15 Sonos, Inc. Manipulation of playback device response using signal processing
US9949057B2 (en) * 2015-09-08 2018-04-17 Apple Inc. Stereo and filter control for multi-speaker device
US9886234B2 (en) 2016-01-28 2018-02-06 Sonos, Inc. Systems and methods of distributing audio to one or more playback devices
USD851057S1 (en) 2016-09-30 2019-06-11 Sonos, Inc. Speaker grill with graduated hole sizing over a transition area for a media device
USD827671S1 (en) 2016-09-30 2018-09-04 Sonos, Inc. Media playback device
US10412473B2 (en) 2016-09-30 2019-09-10 Sonos, Inc. Speaker grill with graduated hole sizing over a transition area for a media device
US10362270B2 (en) 2016-12-12 2019-07-23 Dolby Laboratories Licensing Corporation Multimodal spatial registration of devices for congruent multimedia communications
US11307661B2 (en) 2017-09-25 2022-04-19 Apple Inc. Electronic device with actuators for producing haptic and audio output along a device housing
EP3487188B1 (en) 2017-11-21 2021-08-18 Dolby Laboratories Licensing Corporation Methods, apparatus and systems for asymmetric speaker processing
KR102482960B1 (en) * 2018-02-07 2022-12-29 삼성전자주식회사 Method for playing audio data using dual speaker and electronic device thereof
US10757491B1 (en) 2018-06-11 2020-08-25 Apple Inc. Wearable interactive audio device
US10873798B1 (en) 2018-06-11 2020-12-22 Apple Inc. Detecting through-body inputs at a wearable audio device
US11334032B2 (en) 2018-08-30 2022-05-17 Apple Inc. Electronic watch with barometric vent
US11561144B1 (en) 2018-09-27 2023-01-24 Apple Inc. Wearable electronic device with fluid-based pressure sensing
JP7194292B2 (en) 2019-04-17 2022-12-21 アップル インコーポレイテッド radio localizable tag
US20240015459A1 (en) * 2022-07-07 2024-01-11 Harman International Industries, Incorporated Motion detection of speaker units

Citations (5)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US20010011993A1 (en) * 2000-02-08 2001-08-09 Nokia Corporation Stereophonic reproduction maintaining means and methods for operation in horizontal and vertical A/V appliance positions
US20070291961A1 (en) * 2006-06-15 2007-12-20 Lg Electronics Inc. Mobile terminal having speaker control and method of use
US20080063211A1 (en) * 2006-09-12 2008-03-13 Kusunoki Miwa Multichannel audio amplification apparatus
US20100066751A1 (en) * 2008-09-12 2010-03-18 Lg Electronics Inc. Adjusting the display orientation of an image on a mobile terminal
US20110316768A1 (en) * 2010-06-28 2011-12-29 Vizio, Inc. System, method and apparatus for speaker configuration

Family Cites Families (173)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US1893291A (en) 1931-01-05 1933-01-03 Kwartin Bernard Volume control apparatus for recording and broadcasting
US4068103A (en) 1975-06-05 1978-01-10 Essex Group, Inc. Loudspeaker solderless connector system and method of setting correct pigtail length
US4081631A (en) 1976-12-08 1978-03-28 Motorola, Inc. Dual purpose, weather resistant data terminal keyboard assembly including audio porting
US4089576A (en) 1976-12-20 1978-05-16 General Electric Company Insulated connection of photovoltaic devices
US4245642A (en) 1979-06-28 1981-01-20 Medtronic, Inc. Lead connector
US4466441A (en) 1982-08-02 1984-08-21 Medtronic, Inc. In-line and bifurcated cardiac pacing lead connector
FR2577361A1 (en) 1985-02-11 1986-08-14 Carpentier Claude AUDIO AMPLIFIER FOR AUTOMOBILE
US4658425A (en) 1985-04-19 1987-04-14 Shure Brothers, Inc. Microphone actuation control system suitable for teleconference systems
JP2602642B2 (en) 1986-02-17 1997-04-23 アイワ株式会社 Directional microphone device
JPH034476Y2 (en) 1986-05-20 1991-02-05
JPH02102905A (en) 1988-10-07 1990-04-16 Matsushita Electric Ind Co Ltd Belt clip for small size electronic equipment
US5121426A (en) 1989-12-22 1992-06-09 At&T Bell Laboratories Loudspeaking telephone station including directional microphone
JPH0749750Y2 (en) 1990-06-27 1995-11-13 矢崎総業株式会社 Branch circuit structure
US5060206A (en) 1990-09-25 1991-10-22 Allied-Signal Inc. Marine acoustic aerobuoy and method of operation
FR2674177B1 (en) 1991-03-20 1993-06-25 Telemecanique METHOD FOR WALKING IN RESIN THE INTERIOR OF AN ELECTRICAL APPARATUS SUCH AS A PROXIMITY DETECTOR, AND ELECTRICAL APPARATUS RELATING THERETO.
US5621806A (en) 1992-02-14 1997-04-15 Texas Instruments Incorporated Apparatus and methods for determining the relative displacement of an object
US5335011A (en) 1993-01-12 1994-08-02 Bell Communications Research, Inc. Sound localization system for teleconferencing using self-steering microphone arrays
GB2283195B (en) 1993-10-29 1998-01-14 Electronic Tech Encapsulating components in an encapsulating liquid
US5406038A (en) 1994-01-31 1995-04-11 Motorola, Inc. Shielded speaker
DE4407782C2 (en) 1994-03-09 1997-08-28 Braun Ag Housing for an electrical device and method for introducing casting compound into the housing
JP3269920B2 (en) 1994-07-28 2002-04-02 三菱電機株式会社 connector
US5649020A (en) 1994-08-29 1997-07-15 Motorola, Inc. Electronic driver for an electromagnetic resonant transducer
US6351542B2 (en) 1995-09-02 2002-02-26 New Transducers Limited Loudspeakers with panel-form acoustic radiating elements
KR19990044170A (en) 1995-09-02 1999-06-25 헨리 에이지마 Panel Loudspeakers
US5570324A (en) 1995-09-06 1996-10-29 Northrop Grumman Corporation Underwater sound localization system
US5691697A (en) 1995-09-22 1997-11-25 Kidde Technologies, Inc. Security system
GB2310559B (en) 1996-02-23 2000-09-20 Nokia Mobile Phones Ltd Audio output apparatus for a mobile communication device
US6618487B1 (en) 1996-09-03 2003-09-09 New Transducers Limited Electro-dynamic exciter
US6278787B1 (en) 1996-09-03 2001-08-21 New Transducers Limited Loudspeakers
US6324294B1 (en) 1996-09-03 2001-11-27 New Transducers Limited Passenger vehicles incorporating loudspeakers comprising panel-form acoustic radiating elements
US6073033A (en) 1996-11-01 2000-06-06 Telxon Corporation Portable telephone with integrated heads-up display and data terminal functions
DE69626285T2 (en) 1996-11-04 2004-01-22 Molex Inc., Lisle Electrical connector for telephone handset
JP3797751B2 (en) 1996-11-27 2006-07-19 富士通株式会社 Microphone system
US6246761B1 (en) 1997-07-24 2001-06-12 Nortel Networks Limited Automatic volume control for a telephone ringer
JPH1154166A (en) 1997-07-30 1999-02-26 Sumitomo Wiring Syst Ltd Joint device for automobile wire harness
US6317237B1 (en) 1997-07-31 2001-11-13 Kyoyu Corporation Voice monitoring system using laser beam
US6151401A (en) 1998-04-09 2000-11-21 Compaq Computer Corporation Planar speaker for multimedia laptop PCs
GB9905038D0 (en) 1999-03-05 1999-04-28 New Transducers Ltd Loudpeakers
TR200100136T2 (en) 1998-07-03 2001-06-21 New Transducers Limited Panel-shaped resonant speaker
US6138040A (en) 1998-07-31 2000-10-24 Motorola, Inc. Method for suppressing speaker activation in a portable communication device operated in a speakerphone mode
US6154551A (en) 1998-09-25 2000-11-28 Frenkel; Anatoly Microphone having linear optical transducers
GB2342802B (en) 1998-10-14 2003-04-16 Picturetel Corp Method and apparatus for indexing conference content
US6469732B1 (en) 1998-11-06 2002-10-22 Vtel Corporation Acoustic source location using a microphone array
DE19854373B4 (en) 1998-11-25 2005-02-24 Robert Bosch Gmbh Method for controlling the sensitivity of a microphone
US6192253B1 (en) 1999-10-06 2001-02-20 Motorola, Inc. Wrist-carried radiotelephone
US20030053643A1 (en) 2000-01-27 2003-03-20 New Transducers Limited Apparatus comprising a vibration component
US6934394B1 (en) 2000-02-29 2005-08-23 Logitech Europe S.A. Universal four-channel surround sound speaker system for multimedia computer audio sub-systems
US20020012442A1 (en) 2000-04-14 2002-01-31 Henry Azima Acoustic device and method for driving it
US7194186B1 (en) 2000-04-21 2007-03-20 Vulcan Patents Llc Flexible marking of recording data by a recording unit
WO2001093554A2 (en) 2000-05-26 2001-12-06 Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. Method and device for acoustic echo cancellation combined with adaptive beamforming
US6826285B2 (en) 2000-08-03 2004-11-30 New Transducers Limited Bending wave loudspeaker
EP1194002B1 (en) 2000-09-28 2009-08-19 Panasonic Corporation Electromagnetic transducer and portable communication device
SE518418C2 (en) 2000-12-28 2002-10-08 Ericsson Telefon Ab L M Sound-based proximity detector
US7130705B2 (en) 2001-01-08 2006-10-31 International Business Machines Corporation System and method for microphone gain adjust based on speaker orientation
US20020150219A1 (en) 2001-04-12 2002-10-17 Jorgenson Joel A. Distributed audio system for the capture, conditioning and delivery of sound
JP2003032776A (en) 2001-07-17 2003-01-31 Matsushita Electric Ind Co Ltd Reproduction system
WO2003024149A1 (en) 2001-09-10 2003-03-20 Sonion A/S Miniature speaker with integrated signal processing electronics
US6829018B2 (en) 2001-09-17 2004-12-07 Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. Three-dimensional sound creation assisted by visual information
JP3715224B2 (en) 2001-09-18 2005-11-09 本田技研工業株式会社 Entertainment system mounted on the vehicle
US6980485B2 (en) 2001-10-25 2005-12-27 Polycom, Inc. Automatic camera tracking using beamforming
KR100437142B1 (en) 2001-12-07 2004-06-25 에피밸리 주식회사 Optical microphone
KR20030070179A (en) 2002-02-21 2003-08-29 엘지전자 주식회사 Method of the audio stream segmantation
US7132597B2 (en) 2002-02-26 2006-11-07 Taylor-Listug, Inc. Transducer for converting between mechanical vibration and electrical signal
US8135115B1 (en) 2006-11-22 2012-03-13 Securus Technologies, Inc. System and method for multi-channel recording
DE10219641A1 (en) 2002-05-02 2003-12-18 Siemens Ag Display with integrated loudspeaker and method for detecting touches of a display
JP2003338769A (en) 2002-05-22 2003-11-28 Nec Access Technica Ltd Portable radio terminal device
US20030236663A1 (en) 2002-06-19 2003-12-25 Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. Mega speaker identification (ID) system and corresponding methods therefor
US20060023898A1 (en) 2002-06-24 2006-02-02 Shelley Katz Apparatus and method for producing sound
US6882971B2 (en) 2002-07-18 2005-04-19 General Instrument Corporation Method and apparatus for improving listener differentiation of talkers during a conference call
US8947347B2 (en) 2003-08-27 2015-02-03 Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. Controlling actions in a video game unit
WO2004025938A1 (en) 2002-09-09 2004-03-25 Vertu Ltd Cellular radio telephone
US6914854B1 (en) 2002-10-29 2005-07-05 The United States Of America As Represented By The Secretary Of The Army Method for detecting extended range motion and counting moving objects using an acoustics microphone array
JP4016266B2 (en) 2002-10-30 2007-12-05 オムロン株式会社 Proximity sensor sealing method
US7003099B1 (en) 2002-11-15 2006-02-21 Fortmedia, Inc. Small array microphone for acoustic echo cancellation and noise suppression
US20040203520A1 (en) 2002-12-20 2004-10-14 Tom Schirtzinger Apparatus and method for application control in an electronic device
US7266189B1 (en) 2003-01-27 2007-09-04 Cisco Technology, Inc. Who said that? teleconference speaker identification apparatus and method
US7006654B2 (en) 2003-02-07 2006-02-28 Step Technologies, Inc. Push-pull electromagnetic transducer with increased Xmax
EP1629687A1 (en) 2003-05-15 2006-03-01 Oticon A/S Microphone with adjustable properties
US7428000B2 (en) 2003-06-26 2008-09-23 Microsoft Corp. System and method for distributed meetings
US7154526B2 (en) 2003-07-11 2006-12-26 Fuji Xerox Co., Ltd. Telepresence system and method for video teleconferencing
US6813218B1 (en) 2003-10-06 2004-11-02 The United States Of America As Represented By The Secretary Of The Navy Buoyant device for bi-directional acousto-optic signal transfer across the air-water interface
JP4516527B2 (en) 2003-11-12 2010-08-04 本田技研工業株式会社 Voice recognition device
US7613313B2 (en) 2004-01-09 2009-11-03 Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. System and method for control of audio field based on position of user
JP2005202014A (en) 2004-01-14 2005-07-28 Sony Corp Audio signal processor, audio signal processing method, and audio signal processing program
JP4458888B2 (en) 2004-03-22 2010-04-28 富士通株式会社 Conference support system, minutes generation method, and computer program
US7346315B2 (en) 2004-03-30 2008-03-18 Motorola Inc Handheld device loudspeaker system
US7054450B2 (en) 2004-03-31 2006-05-30 Motorola, Inc. Method and system for ensuring audio safety
US20050238188A1 (en) 2004-04-27 2005-10-27 Wilcox Peter R Optical microphone transducer with methods for changing and controlling frequency and harmonic content of the output signal
US8031853B2 (en) 2004-06-02 2011-10-04 Clearone Communications, Inc. Multi-pod conference systems
US20050271216A1 (en) 2004-06-04 2005-12-08 Khosrow Lashkari Method and apparatus for loudspeaker equalization
CN101002175B (en) 2004-07-01 2013-04-03 诺基亚公司 Method, apparatus and computer program product to utilize context ontology in mobile device application personalization
GB0419346D0 (en) 2004-09-01 2004-09-29 Smyth Stephen M F Method and apparatus for improved headphone virtualisation
TW200629959A (en) 2004-09-22 2006-08-16 Citizen Electronics Electro-dynamic exciter
KR100754385B1 (en) 2004-09-30 2007-08-31 삼성전자주식회사 Apparatus and method for object localization, tracking, and separation using audio and video sensors
US8237770B2 (en) 2004-10-15 2012-08-07 Lifesize Communications, Inc. Audio based on speaker position and/or conference location
JP4741261B2 (en) 2005-03-11 2011-08-03 株式会社日立製作所 Video conferencing system, program and conference terminal
JP2006297828A (en) 2005-04-22 2006-11-02 Omron Corp Manufacturing method and manufacturing apparatus of proximity sensor, and proximity sensor
US9019209B2 (en) 2005-06-08 2015-04-28 3M Innovative Properties Company Touch location determination involving multiple touch location processes
US8031891B2 (en) 2005-06-30 2011-10-04 Microsoft Corporation Dynamic media rendering
JP4669340B2 (en) * 2005-07-28 2011-04-13 富士通株式会社 Information processing apparatus, information processing method, and information processing program
JP4466519B2 (en) 2005-09-15 2010-05-26 ヤマハ株式会社 AV amplifier device
US7378963B1 (en) 2005-09-20 2008-05-27 Begault Durand R Reconfigurable auditory-visual display
JP4867280B2 (en) 2005-10-18 2012-02-01 株式会社ジェイテクト Coating agent application method
US8204266B2 (en) 2005-10-21 2012-06-19 Sfx Technologies Limited Audio devices
CN101253804B (en) 2005-11-02 2012-11-28 日本电气株式会社 Speaker, image element protective screen, case of terminal, and terminal
JP2007135043A (en) 2005-11-11 2007-05-31 Pioneer Electronic Corp Loudspeaker apparatus and terminal member
DE102005057406A1 (en) 2005-11-30 2007-06-06 Valenzuela, Carlos Alberto, Dr.-Ing. Method for recording a sound source with time-variable directional characteristics and for playback and system for carrying out the method
KR100673849B1 (en) 2006-01-18 2007-01-24 주식회사 비에스이 Condenser microphone for inserting in mainboard and potable communication device including the same
US8209181B2 (en) 2006-02-14 2012-06-26 Microsoft Corporation Personal audio-video recorder for live meetings
DE602006010323D1 (en) 2006-04-13 2009-12-24 Fraunhofer Ges Forschung decorrelator
JP4898296B2 (en) 2006-05-24 2012-03-14 三菱電線工業株式会社 Connecting member
US8401210B2 (en) 2006-12-05 2013-03-19 Apple Inc. System and method for dynamic control of audio playback based on the position of a listener
KR101352706B1 (en) 2006-12-28 2014-01-16 후루카와 에이에스 가부시키가이샤 Connection member and harness connector
JP5070840B2 (en) 2006-12-29 2012-11-14 ソニー株式会社 Display device with speaker
WO2009017280A1 (en) 2007-07-30 2009-02-05 Lg Electronics Inc. Display device and speaker system for the display device
US7848529B2 (en) 2007-01-11 2010-12-07 Fortemedia, Inc. Broadside small array microphone beamforming unit
US20080175408A1 (en) 2007-01-20 2008-07-24 Shridhar Mukund Proximity filter
US20080204379A1 (en) 2007-02-22 2008-08-28 Microsoft Corporation Display with integrated audio transducer device
JP4466666B2 (en) 2007-03-14 2010-05-26 日本電気株式会社 Minutes creation method, apparatus and program thereof
US7527523B2 (en) 2007-05-02 2009-05-05 Tyco Electronics Corporation High power terminal block assembly
US8004493B2 (en) 2007-06-08 2011-08-23 Apple Inc. Methods and systems for providing sensory information to devices and peripherals
KR20080110497A (en) 2007-06-14 2008-12-18 야마하 가부시키가이샤 Microphone package adapted to semiconductor device and manufacturing method therefor
JP4469882B2 (en) 2007-08-16 2010-06-02 株式会社東芝 Acoustic signal processing method and apparatus
US7966785B2 (en) 2007-08-22 2011-06-28 Apple Inc. Laminated display window and device incorporating same
KR101409169B1 (en) 2007-09-05 2014-06-19 삼성전자주식회사 Sound zooming method and apparatus by controlling null widt
US7995732B2 (en) 2007-10-04 2011-08-09 At&T Intellectual Property I, Lp Managing audio in a multi-source audio environment
EP2094032A1 (en) 2008-02-19 2009-08-26 Deutsche Thomson OHG Audio signal, method and apparatus for encoding or transmitting the same and method and apparatus for processing the same
US8417298B2 (en) 2008-04-01 2013-04-09 Apple Inc. Mounting structures for portable electronic devices
US8055003B2 (en) 2008-04-01 2011-11-08 Apple Inc. Acoustic systems for electronic devices
US8693698B2 (en) 2008-04-30 2014-04-08 Qualcomm Incorporated Method and apparatus to reduce non-linear distortion in mobile computing devices
US8452019B1 (en) 2008-07-08 2013-05-28 National Acquisition Sub, Inc. Testing and calibration for audio processing system with noise cancelation based on selected nulls
US9445193B2 (en) 2008-07-31 2016-09-13 Nokia Technologies Oy Electronic device directional audio capture
US8189429B2 (en) 2008-09-30 2012-05-29 Apple Inc. Microphone proximity detection
US8218397B2 (en) 2008-10-24 2012-07-10 Qualcomm Incorporated Audio source proximity estimation using sensor array for noise reduction
US8724829B2 (en) 2008-10-24 2014-05-13 Qualcomm Incorporated Systems, methods, apparatus, and computer-readable media for coherence detection
US8319858B2 (en) 2008-10-31 2012-11-27 Fortemedia, Inc. Electronic apparatus and method for receiving sounds with auxiliary information from camera system
US8030914B2 (en) 2008-12-29 2011-10-04 Motorola Mobility, Inc. Portable electronic device having self-calibrating proximity sensors
US8184180B2 (en) 2009-03-25 2012-05-22 Broadcom Corporation Spatially synchronized audio and video capture
US20110002487A1 (en) 2009-07-06 2011-01-06 Apple Inc. Audio Channel Assignment for Audio Output in a Movable Device
US8340312B2 (en) 2009-08-04 2012-12-25 Apple Inc. Differential mode noise cancellation with active real-time control for microphone-speaker combinations used in two way audio communications
US8749609B2 (en) 2009-09-03 2014-06-10 Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. Apparatus, system and method for video call
JP5320232B2 (en) 2009-09-16 2013-10-23 本田技研工業株式会社 Regulator terminal connection structure
US8335689B2 (en) 2009-10-14 2012-12-18 Cogi, Inc. Method and system for efficient management of speech transcribers
US8326624B2 (en) 2009-10-26 2012-12-04 International Business Machines Corporation Detecting and communicating biometrics of recorded voice during transcription process
US8447054B2 (en) 2009-11-11 2013-05-21 Analog Devices, Inc. Microphone with variable low frequency cutoff
US9113264B2 (en) 2009-11-12 2015-08-18 Robert H. Frater Speakerphone and/or microphone arrays and methods and systems of the using the same
EP2505000A2 (en) 2009-11-23 2012-10-03 Incus Laboratories Limited Production of ambient noise-cancelling earphones
US20110150247A1 (en) * 2009-12-17 2011-06-23 Rene Martin Oliveras System and method for applying a plurality of input signals to a loudspeaker array
US8560309B2 (en) 2009-12-29 2013-10-15 Apple Inc. Remote conferencing center
US8620162B2 (en) 2010-03-25 2013-12-31 Apple Inc. Handheld electronic device with integrated transmitters
TW201136331A (en) 2010-04-06 2011-10-16 Zhao-Lang Wang Moving-magnet type loudspeaker device
DE102010015630B3 (en) * 2010-04-20 2011-06-01 Institut für Rundfunktechnik GmbH Method for generating a backwards compatible sound format
US8452037B2 (en) 2010-05-05 2013-05-28 Apple Inc. Speaker clip
US8300845B2 (en) 2010-06-23 2012-10-30 Motorola Mobility Llc Electronic apparatus having microphones with controllable front-side gain and rear-side gain
US8965014B2 (en) * 2010-08-31 2015-02-24 Cypress Semiconductor Corporation Adapting audio signals to a change in device orientation
US8644519B2 (en) 2010-09-30 2014-02-04 Apple Inc. Electronic devices with improved audio
US8804993B2 (en) 2011-01-10 2014-08-12 Apple Inc. Audio port configuration for compact electronic devices
US9026450B2 (en) * 2011-03-09 2015-05-05 Dts Llc System for dynamically creating and rendering audio objects
US8942382B2 (en) 2011-03-22 2015-01-27 Mh Acoustics Llc Dynamic beamformer processing for acoustic echo cancellation in systems with high acoustic coupling
US8811648B2 (en) 2011-03-31 2014-08-19 Apple Inc. Moving magnet audio transducer
US9007871B2 (en) 2011-04-18 2015-04-14 Apple Inc. Passive proximity detection
US20120306823A1 (en) 2011-06-06 2012-12-06 Apple Inc. Audio sensors
JP5895181B2 (en) 2011-07-11 2016-03-30 パナソニックIpマネジメント株式会社 Screw terminal device and plug using the same
US20130028443A1 (en) 2011-07-28 2013-01-31 Apple Inc. Devices with enhanced audio
US20130028446A1 (en) * 2011-07-29 2013-01-31 Openpeak Inc. Orientation adjusting stereo audio output system and method for electrical devices
US8989428B2 (en) 2011-08-31 2015-03-24 Apple Inc. Acoustic systems in electronic devices
US8611095B2 (en) 2011-08-31 2013-12-17 Apple Inc. Integration of sensors and other electronic components
US8879761B2 (en) 2011-11-22 2014-11-04 Apple Inc. Orientation-based audio
US8903108B2 (en) 2011-12-06 2014-12-02 Apple Inc. Near-field null and beamforming
US9020163B2 (en) 2011-12-06 2015-04-28 Apple Inc. Near-field null and beamforming
CN103186214A (en) 2011-12-27 2013-07-03 鸿富锦精密工业(深圳)有限公司 Server power supply system
JP5093414B1 (en) 2012-04-19 2012-12-12 株式会社安川電機 Terminal fittings, terminal blocks and electrical equipment
US8574004B1 (en) 2012-06-04 2013-11-05 GM Global Technology Operations LLC Manual service disconnect with integrated precharge function

Patent Citations (5)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US20010011993A1 (en) * 2000-02-08 2001-08-09 Nokia Corporation Stereophonic reproduction maintaining means and methods for operation in horizontal and vertical A/V appliance positions
US20070291961A1 (en) * 2006-06-15 2007-12-20 Lg Electronics Inc. Mobile terminal having speaker control and method of use
US20080063211A1 (en) * 2006-09-12 2008-03-13 Kusunoki Miwa Multichannel audio amplification apparatus
US20100066751A1 (en) * 2008-09-12 2010-03-18 Lg Electronics Inc. Adjusting the display orientation of an image on a mobile terminal
US20110316768A1 (en) * 2010-06-28 2011-12-29 Vizio, Inc. System, method and apparatus for speaker configuration

Cited By (358)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US11625221B2 (en) 2003-07-28 2023-04-11 Sonos, Inc Synchronizing playback by media playback devices
US9354656B2 (en) 2003-07-28 2016-05-31 Sonos, Inc. Method and apparatus for dynamic channelization device switching in a synchrony group
US10216473B2 (en) 2003-07-28 2019-02-26 Sonos, Inc. Playback device synchrony group states
US10209953B2 (en) 2003-07-28 2019-02-19 Sonos, Inc. Playback device
US11301207B1 (en) 2003-07-28 2022-04-12 Sonos, Inc. Playback device
US9733893B2 (en) 2003-07-28 2017-08-15 Sonos, Inc. Obtaining and transmitting audio
US10754613B2 (en) 2003-07-28 2020-08-25 Sonos, Inc. Audio master selection
US10754612B2 (en) 2003-07-28 2020-08-25 Sonos, Inc. Playback device volume control
US10157034B2 (en) 2003-07-28 2018-12-18 Sonos, Inc. Clock rate adjustment in a multi-zone system
US9733891B2 (en) 2003-07-28 2017-08-15 Sonos, Inc. Obtaining content from local and remote sources for playback
US10747496B2 (en) 2003-07-28 2020-08-18 Sonos, Inc. Playback device
US10949163B2 (en) 2003-07-28 2021-03-16 Sonos, Inc. Playback device
US10120638B2 (en) 2003-07-28 2018-11-06 Sonos, Inc. Synchronizing operations among a plurality of independently clocked digital data processing devices
US10956119B2 (en) 2003-07-28 2021-03-23 Sonos, Inc. Playback device
US9778900B2 (en) 2003-07-28 2017-10-03 Sonos, Inc. Causing a device to join a synchrony group
US11294618B2 (en) 2003-07-28 2022-04-05 Sonos, Inc. Media player system
US10031715B2 (en) 2003-07-28 2018-07-24 Sonos, Inc. Method and apparatus for dynamic master device switching in a synchrony group
US9778897B2 (en) 2003-07-28 2017-10-03 Sonos, Inc. Ceasing playback among a plurality of playback devices
US10963215B2 (en) 2003-07-28 2021-03-30 Sonos, Inc. Media playback device and system
US10282164B2 (en) 2003-07-28 2019-05-07 Sonos, Inc. Synchronizing operations among a plurality of independently clocked digital data processing devices
US10613817B2 (en) 2003-07-28 2020-04-07 Sonos, Inc. Method and apparatus for displaying a list of tracks scheduled for playback by a synchrony group
US9727303B2 (en) 2003-07-28 2017-08-08 Sonos, Inc. Resuming synchronous playback of content
US10970034B2 (en) 2003-07-28 2021-04-06 Sonos, Inc. Audio distributor selection
US10228902B2 (en) 2003-07-28 2019-03-12 Sonos, Inc. Playback device
US11200025B2 (en) 2003-07-28 2021-12-14 Sonos, Inc. Playback device
US9778898B2 (en) 2003-07-28 2017-10-03 Sonos, Inc. Resynchronization of playback devices
US10545723B2 (en) 2003-07-28 2020-01-28 Sonos, Inc. Playback device
US10185541B2 (en) 2003-07-28 2019-01-22 Sonos, Inc. Playback device
US10185540B2 (en) 2003-07-28 2019-01-22 Sonos, Inc. Playback device
US10175932B2 (en) 2003-07-28 2019-01-08 Sonos, Inc. Obtaining content from direct source and remote source
US11650784B2 (en) 2003-07-28 2023-05-16 Sonos, Inc. Adjusting volume levels
US11550539B2 (en) 2003-07-28 2023-01-10 Sonos, Inc. Playback device
US11635935B2 (en) 2003-07-28 2023-04-25 Sonos, Inc. Adjusting volume levels
US10296283B2 (en) 2003-07-28 2019-05-21 Sonos, Inc. Directing synchronous playback between zone players
US10445054B2 (en) 2003-07-28 2019-10-15 Sonos, Inc. Method and apparatus for switching between a directly connected and a networked audio source
US10133536B2 (en) 2003-07-28 2018-11-20 Sonos, Inc. Method and apparatus for adjusting volume in a synchrony group
US9733892B2 (en) 2003-07-28 2017-08-15 Sonos, Inc. Obtaining content based on control by multiple controllers
US9740453B2 (en) 2003-07-28 2017-08-22 Sonos, Inc. Obtaining content from multiple remote sources for playback
US10289380B2 (en) 2003-07-28 2019-05-14 Sonos, Inc. Playback device
US9734242B2 (en) 2003-07-28 2017-08-15 Sonos, Inc. Systems and methods for synchronizing operations among a plurality of independently clocked digital data processing devices that independently source digital data
US11080001B2 (en) 2003-07-28 2021-08-03 Sonos, Inc. Concurrent transmission and playback of audio information
US11106425B2 (en) 2003-07-28 2021-08-31 Sonos, Inc. Synchronizing operations among a plurality of independently clocked digital data processing devices
US11106424B2 (en) 2003-07-28 2021-08-31 Sonos, Inc. Synchronizing operations among a plurality of independently clocked digital data processing devices
US10175930B2 (en) 2003-07-28 2019-01-08 Sonos, Inc. Method and apparatus for playback by a synchrony group
US10140085B2 (en) 2003-07-28 2018-11-27 Sonos, Inc. Playback device operating states
US10387102B2 (en) 2003-07-28 2019-08-20 Sonos, Inc. Playback device grouping
US11132170B2 (en) 2003-07-28 2021-09-28 Sonos, Inc. Adjusting volume levels
US10157035B2 (en) 2003-07-28 2018-12-18 Sonos, Inc. Switching between a directly connected and a networked audio source
US9727302B2 (en) 2003-07-28 2017-08-08 Sonos, Inc. Obtaining content from remote source for playback
US10146498B2 (en) 2003-07-28 2018-12-04 Sonos, Inc. Disengaging and engaging zone players
US10157033B2 (en) 2003-07-28 2018-12-18 Sonos, Inc. Method and apparatus for switching between a directly connected and a networked audio source
US10365884B2 (en) 2003-07-28 2019-07-30 Sonos, Inc. Group volume control
US9727304B2 (en) 2003-07-28 2017-08-08 Sonos, Inc. Obtaining content from direct source and other source
US10359987B2 (en) 2003-07-28 2019-07-23 Sonos, Inc. Adjusting volume levels
US11550536B2 (en) 2003-07-28 2023-01-10 Sonos, Inc. Adjusting volume levels
US10324684B2 (en) 2003-07-28 2019-06-18 Sonos, Inc. Playback device synchrony group states
US10303432B2 (en) 2003-07-28 2019-05-28 Sonos, Inc Playback device
US9658820B2 (en) 2003-07-28 2017-05-23 Sonos, Inc. Resuming synchronous playback of content
US10303431B2 (en) 2003-07-28 2019-05-28 Sonos, Inc. Synchronizing operations among a plurality of independently clocked digital data processing devices
US11556305B2 (en) 2003-07-28 2023-01-17 Sonos, Inc. Synchronizing playback by media playback devices
US9977561B2 (en) 2004-04-01 2018-05-22 Sonos, Inc. Systems, methods, apparatus, and articles of manufacture to provide guest access
US10983750B2 (en) 2004-04-01 2021-04-20 Sonos, Inc. Guest access to a media playback system
US11907610B2 (en) 2004-04-01 2024-02-20 Sonos, Inc. Guess access to a media playback system
US11467799B2 (en) 2004-04-01 2022-10-11 Sonos, Inc. Guest access to a media playback system
US10979310B2 (en) 2004-06-05 2021-04-13 Sonos, Inc. Playback device connection
US11025509B2 (en) 2004-06-05 2021-06-01 Sonos, Inc. Playback device connection
US9787550B2 (en) 2004-06-05 2017-10-10 Sonos, Inc. Establishing a secure wireless network with a minimum human intervention
US10097423B2 (en) 2004-06-05 2018-10-09 Sonos, Inc. Establishing a secure wireless network with minimum human intervention
US11909588B2 (en) 2004-06-05 2024-02-20 Sonos, Inc. Wireless device connection
US11456928B2 (en) 2004-06-05 2022-09-27 Sonos, Inc. Playback device connection
US9960969B2 (en) 2004-06-05 2018-05-01 Sonos, Inc. Playback device connection
US9866447B2 (en) 2004-06-05 2018-01-09 Sonos, Inc. Indicator on a network device
US10965545B2 (en) 2004-06-05 2021-03-30 Sonos, Inc. Playback device connection
US10541883B2 (en) 2004-06-05 2020-01-21 Sonos, Inc. Playback device connection
US11894975B2 (en) 2004-06-05 2024-02-06 Sonos, Inc. Playback device connection
US10439896B2 (en) 2004-06-05 2019-10-08 Sonos, Inc. Playback device connection
US10469966B2 (en) 2006-09-12 2019-11-05 Sonos, Inc. Zone scene management
US9766853B2 (en) 2006-09-12 2017-09-19 Sonos, Inc. Pair volume control
US10448159B2 (en) 2006-09-12 2019-10-15 Sonos, Inc. Playback device pairing
US9860657B2 (en) 2006-09-12 2018-01-02 Sonos, Inc. Zone configurations maintained by playback device
US9749760B2 (en) 2006-09-12 2017-08-29 Sonos, Inc. Updating zone configuration in a multi-zone media system
US11388532B2 (en) 2006-09-12 2022-07-12 Sonos, Inc. Zone scene activation
US11082770B2 (en) 2006-09-12 2021-08-03 Sonos, Inc. Multi-channel pairing in a media system
US9756424B2 (en) 2006-09-12 2017-09-05 Sonos, Inc. Multi-channel pairing in a media system
US9813827B2 (en) 2006-09-12 2017-11-07 Sonos, Inc. Zone configuration based on playback selections
US10136218B2 (en) 2006-09-12 2018-11-20 Sonos, Inc. Playback device pairing
US10555082B2 (en) 2006-09-12 2020-02-04 Sonos, Inc. Playback device pairing
US10848885B2 (en) 2006-09-12 2020-11-24 Sonos, Inc. Zone scene management
US10028056B2 (en) 2006-09-12 2018-07-17 Sonos, Inc. Multi-channel pairing in a media system
US10966025B2 (en) 2006-09-12 2021-03-30 Sonos, Inc. Playback device pairing
US11385858B2 (en) 2006-09-12 2022-07-12 Sonos, Inc. Predefined multi-channel listening environment
US11540050B2 (en) 2006-09-12 2022-12-27 Sonos, Inc. Playback device pairing
US10897679B2 (en) 2006-09-12 2021-01-19 Sonos, Inc. Zone scene management
US9928026B2 (en) 2006-09-12 2018-03-27 Sonos, Inc. Making and indicating a stereo pair
US10228898B2 (en) 2006-09-12 2019-03-12 Sonos, Inc. Identification of playback device and stereo pair names
US10306365B2 (en) 2006-09-12 2019-05-28 Sonos, Inc. Playback device pairing
US9386362B2 (en) 2010-05-05 2016-07-05 Apple Inc. Speaker clip
US10063951B2 (en) 2010-05-05 2018-08-28 Apple Inc. Speaker clip
US11758327B2 (en) 2011-01-25 2023-09-12 Sonos, Inc. Playback device pairing
US11429343B2 (en) 2011-01-25 2022-08-30 Sonos, Inc. Stereo playback configuration and control
US11265652B2 (en) 2011-01-25 2022-03-01 Sonos, Inc. Playback device pairing
US8811648B2 (en) 2011-03-31 2014-08-19 Apple Inc. Moving magnet audio transducer
US10108393B2 (en) 2011-04-18 2018-10-23 Sonos, Inc. Leaving group and smart line-in processing
US10853023B2 (en) 2011-04-18 2020-12-01 Sonos, Inc. Networked playback device
US11531517B2 (en) 2011-04-18 2022-12-20 Sonos, Inc. Networked playback device
US9042556B2 (en) * 2011-07-19 2015-05-26 Sonos, Inc Shaping sound responsive to speaker orientation
US11444375B2 (en) 2011-07-19 2022-09-13 Sonos, Inc. Frequency routing based on orientation
US9748646B2 (en) 2011-07-19 2017-08-29 Sonos, Inc. Configuration based on speaker orientation
US10965024B2 (en) 2011-07-19 2021-03-30 Sonos, Inc. Frequency routing based on orientation
US20130022221A1 (en) * 2011-07-19 2013-01-24 Christopher Kallai Shaping sound responsive to speaker orientation
US9748647B2 (en) 2011-07-19 2017-08-29 Sonos, Inc. Frequency routing based on orientation
US10256536B2 (en) 2011-07-19 2019-04-09 Sonos, Inc. Frequency routing based on orientation
US10771742B1 (en) 2011-07-28 2020-09-08 Apple Inc. Devices with enhanced audio
US10402151B2 (en) 2011-07-28 2019-09-03 Apple Inc. Devices with enhanced audio
US8989428B2 (en) 2011-08-31 2015-03-24 Apple Inc. Acoustic systems in electronic devices
US8879761B2 (en) 2011-11-22 2014-11-04 Apple Inc. Orientation-based audio
US10284951B2 (en) 2011-11-22 2019-05-07 Apple Inc. Orientation-based audio
US11122382B2 (en) 2011-12-29 2021-09-14 Sonos, Inc. Playback based on acoustic signals
US10334386B2 (en) 2011-12-29 2019-06-25 Sonos, Inc. Playback based on wireless signal
US11290838B2 (en) 2011-12-29 2022-03-29 Sonos, Inc. Playback based on user presence detection
US11910181B2 (en) 2011-12-29 2024-02-20 Sonos, Inc Media playback based on sensor data
US11197117B2 (en) 2011-12-29 2021-12-07 Sonos, Inc. Media playback based on sensor data
US9930470B2 (en) 2011-12-29 2018-03-27 Sonos, Inc. Sound field calibration using listener localization
US10945089B2 (en) 2011-12-29 2021-03-09 Sonos, Inc. Playback based on user settings
US10455347B2 (en) 2011-12-29 2019-10-22 Sonos, Inc. Playback based on number of listeners
US11528578B2 (en) 2011-12-29 2022-12-13 Sonos, Inc. Media playback based on sensor data
US11825290B2 (en) 2011-12-29 2023-11-21 Sonos, Inc. Media playback based on sensor data
US10986460B2 (en) 2011-12-29 2021-04-20 Sonos, Inc. Grouping based on acoustic signals
US11153706B1 (en) 2011-12-29 2021-10-19 Sonos, Inc. Playback based on acoustic signals
US11889290B2 (en) 2011-12-29 2024-01-30 Sonos, Inc. Media playback based on sensor data
US11849299B2 (en) 2011-12-29 2023-12-19 Sonos, Inc. Media playback based on sensor data
US11825289B2 (en) 2011-12-29 2023-11-21 Sonos, Inc. Media playback based on sensor data
US9729115B2 (en) 2012-04-27 2017-08-08 Sonos, Inc. Intelligently increasing the sound level of player
US10720896B2 (en) 2012-04-27 2020-07-21 Sonos, Inc. Intelligently modifying the gain parameter of a playback device
US10063202B2 (en) 2012-04-27 2018-08-28 Sonos, Inc. Intelligently modifying the gain parameter of a playback device
US11457327B2 (en) 2012-05-08 2022-09-27 Sonos, Inc. Playback device calibration
US10097942B2 (en) 2012-05-08 2018-10-09 Sonos, Inc. Playback device calibration
US10771911B2 (en) 2012-05-08 2020-09-08 Sonos, Inc. Playback device calibration
US11812250B2 (en) 2012-05-08 2023-11-07 Sonos, Inc. Playback device calibration
US9524098B2 (en) 2012-05-08 2016-12-20 Sonos, Inc. Methods and systems for subwoofer calibration
US9374607B2 (en) 2012-06-26 2016-06-21 Sonos, Inc. Media playback system with guest access
US9961463B2 (en) 2012-06-28 2018-05-01 Sonos, Inc. Calibration indicator
US9820045B2 (en) 2012-06-28 2017-11-14 Sonos, Inc. Playback calibration
US11800305B2 (en) 2012-06-28 2023-10-24 Sonos, Inc. Calibration interface
US11064306B2 (en) 2012-06-28 2021-07-13 Sonos, Inc. Calibration state variable
US10674293B2 (en) 2012-06-28 2020-06-02 Sonos, Inc. Concurrent multi-driver calibration
US10045138B2 (en) 2012-06-28 2018-08-07 Sonos, Inc. Hybrid test tone for space-averaged room audio calibration using a moving microphone
US10045139B2 (en) 2012-06-28 2018-08-07 Sonos, Inc. Calibration state variable
US10129674B2 (en) 2012-06-28 2018-11-13 Sonos, Inc. Concurrent multi-loudspeaker calibration
US10412516B2 (en) 2012-06-28 2019-09-10 Sonos, Inc. Calibration of playback devices
US11516606B2 (en) 2012-06-28 2022-11-29 Sonos, Inc. Calibration interface
US10390159B2 (en) 2012-06-28 2019-08-20 Sonos, Inc. Concurrent multi-loudspeaker calibration
US11516608B2 (en) 2012-06-28 2022-11-29 Sonos, Inc. Calibration state variable
US10284984B2 (en) 2012-06-28 2019-05-07 Sonos, Inc. Calibration state variable
US9749744B2 (en) 2012-06-28 2017-08-29 Sonos, Inc. Playback device calibration
US9648422B2 (en) 2012-06-28 2017-05-09 Sonos, Inc. Concurrent multi-loudspeaker calibration with a single measurement
US10791405B2 (en) 2012-06-28 2020-09-29 Sonos, Inc. Calibration indicator
US9668049B2 (en) 2012-06-28 2017-05-30 Sonos, Inc. Playback device calibration user interfaces
US9913057B2 (en) 2012-06-28 2018-03-06 Sonos, Inc. Concurrent multi-loudspeaker calibration with a single measurement
US9788113B2 (en) 2012-06-28 2017-10-10 Sonos, Inc. Calibration state variable
US11368803B2 (en) 2012-06-28 2022-06-21 Sonos, Inc. Calibration of playback device(s)
US10296282B2 (en) 2012-06-28 2019-05-21 Sonos, Inc. Speaker calibration user interface
US9690539B2 (en) 2012-06-28 2017-06-27 Sonos, Inc. Speaker calibration user interface
US9736584B2 (en) 2012-06-28 2017-08-15 Sonos, Inc. Hybrid test tone for space-averaged room audio calibration using a moving microphone
US9690271B2 (en) 2012-06-28 2017-06-27 Sonos, Inc. Speaker calibration
US9820033B2 (en) 2012-09-28 2017-11-14 Apple Inc. Speaker assembly
US10306364B2 (en) 2012-09-28 2019-05-28 Sonos, Inc. Audio processing adjustments for playback devices based on determined characteristics of audio content
US8858271B2 (en) 2012-10-18 2014-10-14 Apple Inc. Speaker interconnect
US9357299B2 (en) 2012-11-16 2016-05-31 Apple Inc. Active protection for acoustic device
US20140185852A1 (en) * 2012-12-28 2014-07-03 Nvidia Corporation Audio channel mapping in a portable electronic device
US9615176B2 (en) * 2012-12-28 2017-04-04 Nvidia Corporation Audio channel mapping in a portable electronic device
US8942410B2 (en) 2012-12-31 2015-01-27 Apple Inc. Magnetically biased electromagnet for audio applications
US20140233770A1 (en) * 2013-02-20 2014-08-21 Barnesandnoble.Com Llc Techniques for speaker audio control in a device
US20140233771A1 (en) * 2013-02-20 2014-08-21 Barnesandnoble.Com Llc Apparatus for front and rear speaker audio control in a device
US20140233772A1 (en) * 2013-02-20 2014-08-21 Barnesandnoble.Com Llc Techniques for front and rear speaker audio control in a device
US11499255B2 (en) 2013-03-13 2022-11-15 Apple Inc. Textile product having reduced density
US9357309B2 (en) * 2013-04-23 2016-05-31 Cable Television Laboratories, Inc. Orientation based dynamic audio control
US20140314239A1 (en) * 2013-04-23 2014-10-23 Cable Television Laboratiories, Inc. Orientation based dynamic audio control
US10063782B2 (en) 2013-06-18 2018-08-28 Motorola Solutions, Inc. Method and apparatus for displaying an image from a camera
AU2014295217B2 (en) * 2013-07-22 2016-11-10 Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft Zur Foerderung Der Angewandten Forschung E.V. Audio processor for orientation-dependent processing
CN105532018A (en) * 2013-07-22 2016-04-27 弗朗霍夫应用科学研究促进协会 Audio processor for orientation-dependent processing
US20160142843A1 (en) * 2013-07-22 2016-05-19 Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft Zur Foerderung Der Angewandten Forschung E.V. Audio processor for orientation-dependent processing
RU2644025C2 (en) * 2013-07-22 2018-02-07 Фраунхофер-Гезелльшафт Цур Фердерунг Дер Ангевандтен Форшунг Е.Ф. Audioprocessor for orientation-dependent processing
KR101839504B1 (en) 2013-07-22 2018-04-26 프라운호퍼 게젤샤프트 쭈르 푀르데룽 데어 안겐반텐 포르슝 에. 베. Audio Processor for Orientation-Dependent Processing
US9980071B2 (en) * 2013-07-22 2018-05-22 Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft Zur Foerderung Der Angewandten Forschung E.V. Audio processor for orientation-dependent processing
EP2830327A1 (en) * 2013-07-22 2015-01-28 Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft zur Förderung der angewandten Forschung e.V. Audio processor for orientation-dependent processing
WO2015011025A1 (en) * 2013-07-22 2015-01-29 Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft zur Förderung der angewandten Forschung e.V. Audio processor for orientation-dependent processing
US10038947B2 (en) * 2013-10-24 2018-07-31 Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. Method and apparatus for outputting sound through speaker
US20150117686A1 (en) * 2013-10-24 2015-04-30 Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. Method and apparatus for outputting sound through speaker
WO2015068057A1 (en) * 2013-11-06 2015-05-14 Sony Corporation Method and apparatus for audio output, and electronic device
US9344827B2 (en) 2013-11-06 2016-05-17 Sony Corporation Method and apparatus for audio output, and electronic device
US9781513B2 (en) 2014-02-06 2017-10-03 Sonos, Inc. Audio output balancing
US9544707B2 (en) 2014-02-06 2017-01-10 Sonos, Inc. Audio output balancing
US9549258B2 (en) 2014-02-06 2017-01-17 Sonos, Inc. Audio output balancing
US9369104B2 (en) 2014-02-06 2016-06-14 Sonos, Inc. Audio output balancing
US9226087B2 (en) 2014-02-06 2015-12-29 Sonos, Inc. Audio output balancing during synchronized playback
US9363601B2 (en) 2014-02-06 2016-06-07 Sonos, Inc. Audio output balancing
US9794707B2 (en) 2014-02-06 2017-10-17 Sonos, Inc. Audio output balancing
US9226073B2 (en) 2014-02-06 2015-12-29 Sonos, Inc. Audio output balancing during synchronized playback
US11540073B2 (en) 2014-03-17 2022-12-27 Sonos, Inc. Playback device self-calibration
US10051399B2 (en) 2014-03-17 2018-08-14 Sonos, Inc. Playback device configuration according to distortion threshold
US9516419B2 (en) 2014-03-17 2016-12-06 Sonos, Inc. Playback device setting according to threshold(s)
US10791407B2 (en) 2014-03-17 2020-09-29 Sonon, Inc. Playback device configuration
US10412517B2 (en) 2014-03-17 2019-09-10 Sonos, Inc. Calibration of playback device to target curve
US9521488B2 (en) 2014-03-17 2016-12-13 Sonos, Inc. Playback device setting based on distortion
US9439022B2 (en) 2014-03-17 2016-09-06 Sonos, Inc. Playback device speaker configuration based on proximity detection
US9521487B2 (en) 2014-03-17 2016-12-13 Sonos, Inc. Calibration adjustment based on barrier
US9439021B2 (en) 2014-03-17 2016-09-06 Sonos, Inc. Proximity detection using audio pulse
US9419575B2 (en) 2014-03-17 2016-08-16 Sonos, Inc. Audio settings based on environment
US10129675B2 (en) 2014-03-17 2018-11-13 Sonos, Inc. Audio settings of multiple speakers in a playback device
US9219460B2 (en) 2014-03-17 2015-12-22 Sonos, Inc. Audio settings based on environment
US10863295B2 (en) 2014-03-17 2020-12-08 Sonos, Inc. Indoor/outdoor playback device calibration
US10299055B2 (en) 2014-03-17 2019-05-21 Sonos, Inc. Restoration of playback device configuration
US9344829B2 (en) 2014-03-17 2016-05-17 Sonos, Inc. Indication of barrier detection
US9872119B2 (en) 2014-03-17 2018-01-16 Sonos, Inc. Audio settings of multiple speakers in a playback device
US11696081B2 (en) 2014-03-17 2023-07-04 Sonos, Inc. Audio settings based on environment
US10511924B2 (en) 2014-03-17 2019-12-17 Sonos, Inc. Playback device with multiple sensors
US9743208B2 (en) 2014-03-17 2017-08-22 Sonos, Inc. Playback device configuration based on proximity detection
US9264839B2 (en) 2014-03-17 2016-02-16 Sonos, Inc. Playback device configuration based on proximity detection
US10063977B2 (en) 2014-05-12 2018-08-28 Apple Inc. Liquid expulsion from an orifice
US9451354B2 (en) 2014-05-12 2016-09-20 Apple Inc. Liquid expulsion from an orifice
US9521489B2 (en) 2014-07-22 2016-12-13 Sonos, Inc. Operation using positioning information
US9512954B2 (en) 2014-07-22 2016-12-06 Sonos, Inc. Device base
US9778901B2 (en) 2014-07-22 2017-10-03 Sonos, Inc. Operation using positioning information
US9777884B2 (en) 2014-07-22 2017-10-03 Sonos, Inc. Device base
US8995240B1 (en) 2014-07-22 2015-03-31 Sonos, Inc. Playback using positioning information
US9367611B1 (en) 2014-07-22 2016-06-14 Sonos, Inc. Detecting improper position of a playback device
US9213762B1 (en) 2014-07-22 2015-12-15 Sonos, Inc. Operation using positioning information
US20170055092A1 (en) * 2014-08-21 2017-02-23 Google Technology Holdings LLC Systems and methods for equalizing audio for playback on an electronic device
US11706577B2 (en) * 2014-08-21 2023-07-18 Google Technology Holdings LLC Systems and methods for equalizing audio for playback on an electronic device
US10405113B2 (en) * 2014-08-21 2019-09-03 Google Technology Holdings LLC Systems and methods for equalizing audio for playback on an electronic device
US9521497B2 (en) * 2014-08-21 2016-12-13 Google Technology Holdings LLC Systems and methods for equalizing audio for playback on an electronic device
US20180098166A1 (en) * 2014-08-21 2018-04-05 Google Technology Holdings LLC Systems and methods for equalizing audio for playback on an electronic device
US11375329B2 (en) * 2014-08-21 2022-06-28 Google Technology Holdings LLC Systems and methods for equalizing audio for playback on an electronic device
US9854374B2 (en) * 2014-08-21 2017-12-26 Google Technology Holdings LLC Systems and methods for equalizing audio for playback on an electronic device
CN106489130A (en) * 2014-08-21 2017-03-08 谷歌技术控股有限责任公司 For making audio balance so that the system and method play on an electronic device
CN110244930A (en) * 2014-08-21 2019-09-17 谷歌技术控股有限责任公司 System and method for making audio balance to play on an electronic device
CN110673751A (en) * 2014-08-21 2020-01-10 谷歌技术控股有限责任公司 System and method for equalizing audio for playback on an electronic device
US20230328468A1 (en) * 2014-08-21 2023-10-12 Google Technology Holdings LLC Systems and methods for equalizing audio for playback on an electronic device
CN105376691A (en) * 2014-08-29 2016-03-02 杜比实验室特许公司 Orientation-aware surround sound playback
US11330372B2 (en) 2014-08-29 2022-05-10 Dolby Laboratories Licensing Corporation Orientation-aware surround sound playback
US11902762B2 (en) 2014-08-29 2024-02-13 Dolby Laboratories Licensing Corporation Orientation-aware surround sound playback
WO2016033358A1 (en) * 2014-08-29 2016-03-03 Dolby Laboratories Licensing Corporation Orientation-aware surround sound playback
US10362401B2 (en) 2014-08-29 2019-07-23 Dolby Laboratories Licensing Corporation Orientation-aware surround sound playback
CN110636415A (en) * 2014-08-29 2019-12-31 杜比实验室特许公司 Direction-aware surround sound playback
US10848873B2 (en) 2014-08-29 2020-11-24 Dolby Laboratories Licensing Corporation Orientation-aware surround sound playback
US11029917B2 (en) 2014-09-09 2021-06-08 Sonos, Inc. Audio processing algorithms
US10127006B2 (en) 2014-09-09 2018-11-13 Sonos, Inc. Facilitating calibration of an audio playback device
US9781532B2 (en) 2014-09-09 2017-10-03 Sonos, Inc. Playback device calibration
US10271150B2 (en) 2014-09-09 2019-04-23 Sonos, Inc. Playback device calibration
US9891881B2 (en) 2014-09-09 2018-02-13 Sonos, Inc. Audio processing algorithm database
US9910634B2 (en) 2014-09-09 2018-03-06 Sonos, Inc. Microphone calibration
US9936318B2 (en) 2014-09-09 2018-04-03 Sonos, Inc. Playback device calibration
US10154359B2 (en) 2014-09-09 2018-12-11 Sonos, Inc. Playback device calibration
US9952825B2 (en) 2014-09-09 2018-04-24 Sonos, Inc. Audio processing algorithms
US9749763B2 (en) 2014-09-09 2017-08-29 Sonos, Inc. Playback device calibration
US9706323B2 (en) 2014-09-09 2017-07-11 Sonos, Inc. Playback device calibration
US11625219B2 (en) 2014-09-09 2023-04-11 Sonos, Inc. Audio processing algorithms
US9715367B2 (en) 2014-09-09 2017-07-25 Sonos, Inc. Audio processing algorithms
US10701501B2 (en) 2014-09-09 2020-06-30 Sonos, Inc. Playback device calibration
US10127008B2 (en) 2014-09-09 2018-11-13 Sonos, Inc. Audio processing algorithm database
US10599386B2 (en) 2014-09-09 2020-03-24 Sonos, Inc. Audio processing algorithms
US9671780B2 (en) * 2014-09-29 2017-06-06 Sonos, Inc. Playback device control
US11681281B2 (en) 2014-09-29 2023-06-20 Sonos, Inc. Playback device control
US20160011590A1 (en) * 2014-09-29 2016-01-14 Sonos, Inc. Playback Device Control
US10241504B2 (en) 2014-09-29 2019-03-26 Sonos, Inc. Playback device control
US10386830B2 (en) 2014-09-29 2019-08-20 Sonos, Inc. Playback device with capacitive sensors
US10362403B2 (en) 2014-11-24 2019-07-23 Apple Inc. Mechanically actuated panel acoustic system
US9525943B2 (en) 2014-11-24 2016-12-20 Apple Inc. Mechanically actuated panel acoustic system
US11907614B2 (en) 2015-02-25 2024-02-20 Sonos, Inc. Playback expansion
US9965243B2 (en) 2015-02-25 2018-05-08 Sonos, Inc. Playback expansion
US11467800B2 (en) 2015-02-25 2022-10-11 Sonos, Inc. Playback expansion
US10860284B2 (en) 2015-02-25 2020-12-08 Sonos, Inc. Playback expansion
US10664224B2 (en) 2015-04-24 2020-05-26 Sonos, Inc. Speaker calibration user interface
US10284983B2 (en) 2015-04-24 2019-05-07 Sonos, Inc. Playback device calibration user interfaces
US11403062B2 (en) 2015-06-11 2022-08-02 Sonos, Inc. Multiple groupings in a playback system
US9900698B2 (en) 2015-06-30 2018-02-20 Apple Inc. Graphene composite acoustic diaphragm
US9749761B2 (en) 2015-07-19 2017-08-29 Sonos, Inc. Base properties in a media playback system
US10735878B2 (en) 2015-07-19 2020-08-04 Sonos, Inc. Stereo pairing with device base
US10264376B2 (en) 2015-07-19 2019-04-16 Sonos, Inc. Properties based on device base
US11528570B2 (en) 2015-07-19 2022-12-13 Sonos, Inc. Playback device base
US10129673B2 (en) 2015-07-19 2018-11-13 Sonos, Inc. Base properties in media playback system
US9538305B2 (en) 2015-07-28 2017-01-03 Sonos, Inc. Calibration error conditions
US10129679B2 (en) 2015-07-28 2018-11-13 Sonos, Inc. Calibration error conditions
US10462592B2 (en) 2015-07-28 2019-10-29 Sonos, Inc. Calibration error conditions
US9781533B2 (en) 2015-07-28 2017-10-03 Sonos, Inc. Calibration error conditions
US10976992B2 (en) 2015-09-03 2021-04-13 Sonos, Inc. Playback device mode based on device base
US10001965B1 (en) 2015-09-03 2018-06-19 Sonos, Inc. Playback system join with base
US10489108B2 (en) 2015-09-03 2019-11-26 Sonos, Inc. Playback system join with base
US11669299B2 (en) 2015-09-03 2023-06-06 Sonos, Inc. Playback device with device base
US11099808B2 (en) 2015-09-17 2021-08-24 Sonos, Inc. Facilitating calibration of an audio playback device
US11706579B2 (en) 2015-09-17 2023-07-18 Sonos, Inc. Validation of audio calibration using multi-dimensional motion check
US9693165B2 (en) 2015-09-17 2017-06-27 Sonos, Inc. Validation of audio calibration using multi-dimensional motion check
US11803350B2 (en) 2015-09-17 2023-10-31 Sonos, Inc. Facilitating calibration of an audio playback device
US9992597B2 (en) 2015-09-17 2018-06-05 Sonos, Inc. Validation of audio calibration using multi-dimensional motion check
US10585639B2 (en) 2015-09-17 2020-03-10 Sonos, Inc. Facilitating calibration of an audio playback device
US11197112B2 (en) 2015-09-17 2021-12-07 Sonos, Inc. Validation of audio calibration using multi-dimensional motion check
US10419864B2 (en) 2015-09-17 2019-09-17 Sonos, Inc. Validation of audio calibration using multi-dimensional motion check
US9743207B1 (en) 2016-01-18 2017-08-22 Sonos, Inc. Calibration using multiple recording devices
US10405117B2 (en) 2016-01-18 2019-09-03 Sonos, Inc. Calibration using multiple recording devices
US11800306B2 (en) 2016-01-18 2023-10-24 Sonos, Inc. Calibration using multiple recording devices
US11432089B2 (en) 2016-01-18 2022-08-30 Sonos, Inc. Calibration using multiple recording devices
US10063983B2 (en) 2016-01-18 2018-08-28 Sonos, Inc. Calibration using multiple recording devices
US10841719B2 (en) 2016-01-18 2020-11-17 Sonos, Inc. Calibration using multiple recording devices
US11006232B2 (en) 2016-01-25 2021-05-11 Sonos, Inc. Calibration based on audio content
US10735879B2 (en) 2016-01-25 2020-08-04 Sonos, Inc. Calibration based on grouping
US11516612B2 (en) 2016-01-25 2022-11-29 Sonos, Inc. Calibration based on audio content
US11106423B2 (en) 2016-01-25 2021-08-31 Sonos, Inc. Evaluating calibration of a playback device
US10390161B2 (en) 2016-01-25 2019-08-20 Sonos, Inc. Calibration based on audio content type
US11184726B2 (en) 2016-01-25 2021-11-23 Sonos, Inc. Calibration using listener locations
US10003899B2 (en) 2016-01-25 2018-06-19 Sonos, Inc. Calibration with particular locations
US10402154B2 (en) 2016-04-01 2019-09-03 Sonos, Inc. Playback device calibration based on representative spectral characteristics
US11736877B2 (en) 2016-04-01 2023-08-22 Sonos, Inc. Updating playback device configuration information based on calibration data
US10880664B2 (en) 2016-04-01 2020-12-29 Sonos, Inc. Updating playback device configuration information based on calibration data
US10884698B2 (en) 2016-04-01 2021-01-05 Sonos, Inc. Playback device calibration based on representative spectral characteristics
US9860662B2 (en) 2016-04-01 2018-01-02 Sonos, Inc. Updating playback device configuration information based on calibration data
US11212629B2 (en) 2016-04-01 2021-12-28 Sonos, Inc. Updating playback device configuration information based on calibration data
US10405116B2 (en) 2016-04-01 2019-09-03 Sonos, Inc. Updating playback device configuration information based on calibration data
US11379179B2 (en) 2016-04-01 2022-07-05 Sonos, Inc. Playback device calibration based on representative spectral characteristics
US9864574B2 (en) 2016-04-01 2018-01-09 Sonos, Inc. Playback device calibration based on representation spectral characteristics
US20170289723A1 (en) * 2016-04-05 2017-10-05 Radsone Inc. Audio output controlling method based on orientation of audio output apparatus and audio output apparatus for controlling audio output based on orientation thereof
US9763018B1 (en) 2016-04-12 2017-09-12 Sonos, Inc. Calibration of audio playback devices
US11889276B2 (en) 2016-04-12 2024-01-30 Sonos, Inc. Calibration of audio playback devices
US10045142B2 (en) 2016-04-12 2018-08-07 Sonos, Inc. Calibration of audio playback devices
US11218827B2 (en) 2016-04-12 2022-01-04 Sonos, Inc. Calibration of audio playback devices
US10750304B2 (en) 2016-04-12 2020-08-18 Sonos, Inc. Calibration of audio playback devices
US10299054B2 (en) 2016-04-12 2019-05-21 Sonos, Inc. Calibration of audio playback devices
US11337017B2 (en) 2016-07-15 2022-05-17 Sonos, Inc. Spatial audio correction
US10750303B2 (en) 2016-07-15 2020-08-18 Sonos, Inc. Spatial audio correction
US10448194B2 (en) 2016-07-15 2019-10-15 Sonos, Inc. Spectral correction using spatial calibration
US9794710B1 (en) 2016-07-15 2017-10-17 Sonos, Inc. Spatial audio correction
US10129678B2 (en) 2016-07-15 2018-11-13 Sonos, Inc. Spatial audio correction
US9860670B1 (en) 2016-07-15 2018-01-02 Sonos, Inc. Spectral correction using spatial calibration
US11736878B2 (en) 2016-07-15 2023-08-22 Sonos, Inc. Spatial audio correction
US10372406B2 (en) 2016-07-22 2019-08-06 Sonos, Inc. Calibration interface
US11237792B2 (en) 2016-07-22 2022-02-01 Sonos, Inc. Calibration assistance
US10853022B2 (en) 2016-07-22 2020-12-01 Sonos, Inc. Calibration interface
US11531514B2 (en) 2016-07-22 2022-12-20 Sonos, Inc. Calibration assistance
US11698770B2 (en) 2016-08-05 2023-07-11 Sonos, Inc. Calibration of a playback device based on an estimated frequency response
US10459684B2 (en) 2016-08-05 2019-10-29 Sonos, Inc. Calibration of a playback device based on an estimated frequency response
US10853027B2 (en) 2016-08-05 2020-12-01 Sonos, Inc. Calibration of a playback device based on an estimated frequency response
US10103699B2 (en) * 2016-09-30 2018-10-16 Lenovo (Singapore) Pte. Ltd. Automatically adjusting a volume of a speaker of a device based on an amplitude of voice input to the device
US11481182B2 (en) 2016-10-17 2022-10-25 Sonos, Inc. Room association based on name
CN109144457A (en) * 2017-06-14 2019-01-04 瑞昱半导体股份有限公司 Audio playing apparatus and its audio control circuit
US11206484B2 (en) 2018-08-28 2021-12-21 Sonos, Inc. Passive speaker authentication
US10299061B1 (en) 2018-08-28 2019-05-21 Sonos, Inc. Playback device calibration
US11350233B2 (en) 2018-08-28 2022-05-31 Sonos, Inc. Playback device calibration
US10848892B2 (en) 2018-08-28 2020-11-24 Sonos, Inc. Playback device calibration
US10582326B1 (en) 2018-08-28 2020-03-03 Sonos, Inc. Playback device calibration
US11877139B2 (en) 2018-08-28 2024-01-16 Sonos, Inc. Playback device calibration
US11374547B2 (en) 2019-08-12 2022-06-28 Sonos, Inc. Audio calibration of a portable playback device
US10734965B1 (en) 2019-08-12 2020-08-04 Sonos, Inc. Audio calibration of a portable playback device
US11728780B2 (en) 2019-08-12 2023-08-15 Sonos, Inc. Audio calibration of a portable playback device
US20220174445A1 (en) * 2020-04-10 2022-06-02 Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. Display device and control method thereof
US11405740B1 (en) * 2020-07-27 2022-08-02 Amazon Technologies, Inc. Audio output configuration for moving devices
US11863960B2 (en) * 2020-07-27 2024-01-02 Amazon Technologies, Inc. Audio output configuration for moving devices
US20230048755A1 (en) * 2020-07-27 2023-02-16 Amazon Technologies, Inc. Audio output configuration for moving devices
WO2023051272A1 (en) * 2021-09-28 2023-04-06 华为技术有限公司 Device networking and sound channel configuration method and electronic device

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
US20150023533A1 (en) 2015-01-22
US8879761B2 (en) 2014-11-04
US10284951B2 (en) 2019-05-07

Similar Documents

Publication Publication Date Title
US8879761B2 (en) Orientation-based audio
US11444375B2 (en) Frequency routing based on orientation
US11847376B2 (en) Orientation based microphone selection apparatus
US9503831B2 (en) Audio playback method and apparatus
JP6741873B2 (en) Apparatus and related methods in the field of virtual reality
CN103369453B (en) The audio frequency apparatus and its method of transducing audio signal
US20170347219A1 (en) Selective audio reproduction
US9986362B2 (en) Information processing method and electronic device
US20120317594A1 (en) Method and system for providing an improved audio experience for viewers of video
JP2022065175A (en) Sound processing device, sound processing method, and program
US10939039B2 (en) Display apparatus and recording medium
JP6663490B2 (en) Speaker system, audio signal rendering device and program
JP6809463B2 (en) Information processing equipment, information processing methods, and programs
TW201345277A (en) Audio player and control method thereof
US9591402B2 (en) Transmit audio in a target space
US20200053500A1 (en) Information Handling System Adaptive Spatialized Three Dimensional Audio
JP2009159073A (en) Acoustic playback apparatus and acoustic playback method
US11487496B2 (en) Controlling audio processing
US11546715B2 (en) Systems and methods for generating video-adapted surround-sound
EP4336343A1 (en) Device control
JP2007180662A (en) Video audio reproducing apparatus, method, and program
KR20150004505A (en) Multi-voice signal playing devices
JP2022143165A (en) Reproduction device, reproduction system, and reproduction method
TW201508628A (en) Method for adjusting sound output and electronic device using the same
JP2009253825A (en) Electronic device, and scene enhancement method

Legal Events

Date Code Title Description
AS Assignment

Owner name: APPLE INC., CALIFORNIA

Free format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNORS:JOHNSON, MARTIN E.;GOEL, RUCHI;HADLEY, DARBY E.;SIGNING DATES FROM 20111115 TO 20111120;REEL/FRAME:027265/0623

AS Assignment

Owner name: APPLE INC., CALIFORNIA

Free format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNOR:RAFF, JOHN;REEL/FRAME:031474/0860

Effective date: 20131024

FEPP Fee payment procedure

Free format text: PAYOR NUMBER ASSIGNED (ORIGINAL EVENT CODE: ASPN); ENTITY STATUS OF PATENT OWNER: LARGE ENTITY

STCF Information on status: patent grant

Free format text: PATENTED CASE

MAFP Maintenance fee payment

Free format text: PAYMENT OF MAINTENANCE FEE, 4TH YEAR, LARGE ENTITY (ORIGINAL EVENT CODE: M1551)

Year of fee payment: 4

MAFP Maintenance fee payment

Free format text: PAYMENT OF MAINTENANCE FEE, 8TH YEAR, LARGE ENTITY (ORIGINAL EVENT CODE: M1552); ENTITY STATUS OF PATENT OWNER: LARGE ENTITY

Year of fee payment: 8